Weirder Things Have Happened
by chocoholicbabe
Summary: Seth returns with to Forks with the Cullens for Jake and Renesmee's wedding. He meets up with Ellie, an old crush from years ago, and sparks fly. But does she really like Seth or is there some other reasons she wont reveal?
1. Home Sweet Home

**Hey guys, it's been a while since I wrote any fanfics, but thought I'd give it a go cos I absolutely love Twilight :) But then who doesn't right? :D  
I rated it a K+ because, frankly, I'm English, and have no idea what K+ means lol. Also I've tried to get the American terminology right, but I apologise in advance if I've gotten something wrong. Anways, hope you enjoy ^_^**

I leaned forward slightly in my seat as the house came into view, excited to finally be home. The three floor house hadn't changed even slightly over the years; the walls were still the same soft, faded white colour, the entire structure still in perfect proportion all over. Even the weather was the same; the trademark purplish black clouds of Forks hovered over us, threatening to burst at any moment.

"Home sweet home," Renesmee smiled, pulling the car to a stop in the deep shade of the trees that protected the privacy of the house.

"Yeah, sweet until we have to start unpacking Ness. I feel like that's all we ever do ," Jacob complained from next to her.

"It was your choice to go on the move with a bunch of vampires," I grinned.

"Shut it Seth, or I'll be picking someone else to be my best man," Jake growled.

"Shutting up," I promised.

"Don't listen to him Seth, he's a grumpy old wolf," Nessie laughed, opening her car door and getting out. Jake muttered something under his breath that was too low even for my super sensitive wolf hearing to pick up on. I followed Nessie's lead and also pulled myself out, gulping down the fresh air. I saw everyone else was already beginning to unpack the huge truck Jasper had driven down here.

"You were just kidding about that best man thing weren't you?" I checked with Jake, as he followed me to the truck.

"Of course man, I wouldn't dream of using anyone else," Jake grinned. I responded with a goofy grin of my own and picked up a sofa from the back of the truck as easily as if it were made of foam. I then began making my way to the house.

"That one needs to go downstairs Seth," Alice mumbled, dancing past me. I watched her cross the familiar threshold of what had been our home nearly seven years ago, and a smile crept onto my face as forgotten memories came flooding back. I carried the sofa easily up the porch and through the huge double doors, setting it down inside.

"Where did it go again?" I asked, struggling to remember.

"Never mind, I'll handle it, you go outside and help them unload the rest of the stuff," Alice ordered. I backed out the door with my hands held up to her, palms forward, in an I-surrender type gesture. You didn't mess with Alice when it came to furniture or closet arrangements. In fact you didn't really mess with Alice full stop. She stuck her pointed tongue out at me and disappeared upstairs in a blur. I turned on my heel and nearly crashed right into Nessie, who was carrying a cardboard box marked "fragile."

"Woooah watch it," she laughed, her chocolate brown eyes widening in relief that she'd manage to dodge me at the last minute.

"Sorry," I grinned at my step-niece. "Why don't you let me take those?"  
"I would... but Auntie Alice told me not to let you or Jacob near any of the boxes that say "fragile" on them."

"That's a smart idea," Emmett laughed in his booming voice, as he stalked past us with a dining chair held in each hand.

"I wish she'd told you not to let us near anything at all, moving is really boring," Jake grumbled from over by the truck. "How come Edward and Bella aren't helping?"

"They're moving things into the house out in the woods," Nessy replied.

"Oh... aren't they staying here with the rest of us?" Jake asked.

"Well no. We wouldn't all fit would we silly," she giggled, reaching up on tip toe to kiss him as he came over to us.

"So are you staying with them too?" He asked, disappointment incredibly evident in his tone.

Nessie laughed. "You'll have me all to yourself soon; let my parents have me for just these few weeks before the wedding!"

"Do I have to?" Jacob whined. "It's going to be horrible staying here without you!"

"You could always stay somewhere else dog, like Pluto," Rosalie suggested as she glided past from out of the house, flipping her blonde wavy hair over her shoulder. The years had done nothing to soften the relationship between Rose and Jake, and we'd all been dealing with their constant snipes at each other for what felt like an eternity. Admittedly it was amusing at first, but time takes its toll, as demonstrated by the universal eye roll part of the Cullen family and myself gave when Jacob retorted;

"Not even Pluto would be far enough from your stench blondie!" Rosalie gave a low hiss that ordinary human ears would never have picked up on, but was perfectly auditory to the impossibly keen hearing of a group of vampires and two werewolves. Jake grinned triumphantly and carried on into the house with the arm chair he was effortlessly carrying.

"Carlisle, why exactly are we going through all the effort of moving this furniture back here when we're only going to be moving again in a few weeks?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I suppose it's more for the comfort of Jake, Nessie and yourself than anything else," Carlisle explained in his low, calm voice as he passed me by with an enormous plant pot. "But it's also going to be easier to move the furniture from here to our next destination, rather than from England." It had been difficult settling down over the past few years, due to Nessie's incredibly rapid growth spurt, which would have been ridiculously impossible to explain to the humans around us. However, we'd finally chosen to settle down in Cumbria, one of the wettest places in the United Kingdom. It was perfect for a coven of vampires that couldn't go into the sun for fear of exposing their secret to regular people. Together the Cullens, (bar Carlisle and Esme of course) Jacob and I had attended Apple Grammar school, the first school Jacob, Nessie and I had ever fully completed. Though Bella hadn't been very pleased that Nessie was in the year above her, it couldn't be helped since Nessie was physically older than her. It had been on the day of our results that Jake had proposed to Nessie, and it had been their mutual decision that they'd like to hold their wedding here in Forks, with the rest of their families.

"And where's our next destination?" I asked curiously.

"We thought we could go down to Denali to stay with Kate's family, whilst Jacob and Nessie are on their honeymoon in South Africa." I could still hear him crystal clear, despite the fact that he'd carried on into the house and right up to the third floor whilst in the middle of the conversation. Nessie had decided to pick South Africa as the spot for her and Jacob's honeymoon, given the fact that her close friend, Nahuel, also a vampire-human hybrid, lived there. This had been bitterly debated by Jacob, who did not like Nahuel, since he thought Nahuel was constanly attempting to compete with him for Nessie's affections. However, the compulsive need of his imprinting that forced him to give Nessie whatever she wanted diluted his ill feelings towards a honey moon in South Africa, and that was now where they would be headed shortly after the wedding.

"Cool," I nodded, returning to the truck.

"Head's up!" Emmett yelled from within the truck as he launched another sofa at me. I caught it easily and made my way back towards the house. Jacob passed me in the doorway. "This is so boring!" He complained. "How much left?"

"Quite a bit," I admitted, feeling glad that we were unloading at the amazing speed of vampires and not regular people. "But just think, the faster we move, the faster Esme can cook us something to eat! I'm starving!"

"Why do you always have to look on the bright side?" Jake scowled, but my comment did seem to remarkably quicken his pace.

We'd unpacked the truck and gotten everything in place within forty five minutes. The house looked exactly the same as the last time we'd been here, and excluding Nessie we were all exactly the same too. It was weird to think that in seven years we hadn't changed even in the slightest. The whole family sat spread out around the room, Jacob and I with huge plates of lasagne balanced on our knees. I tuned in and out as everybody, mainly Alice, discussed the upcoming wedding plans. It seemed to me Alice was taking full advantage of the fact that unlike her mother, Renesmee did not mind big parties where she was the centre of attention, and Alice was chattering away quickly in a fervered state of enthusiasm about the idea of hundreds of butterflies being released at the "I do's" and the thousands of dollars that would be spent on Nessie's dress.

"Well if you're taking Nessie for a dress fitting tomorrow, me and Seth can go down to La Push and let everyone know we're here," Jake mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"No fair! I want to be there to tell Grandpa!" Nessie argued.

"We won't tell them why we're here then, just let them know. We haven't seen any of them since Sue and Charlie's wedding."

"Alright then... but swear you won't tell!" Nessie demanded.  
"Cross my heart and hope to diet," Jake grinned.

"I still can't believe I'm the mother of the bride at eighteen," Bella groaned. "It only seems like yesterday you said your first word."

"And then your first sentence straight after," Edward smiled proudly, his arm around Bella's waist. A silence fell over us as we remembered that slightly fearful period when we'd had no idea Renesmee would stop aging at a certain point. When her growth had been so rapid it had been possible she'd accelerate right to an old lady in just fifteen years. The Volturi, practically royalty of the vampire world, very nearly destroyed the Cullens over the issue. In fact, if it hadn't been for Alice finding Nahuel, who was 150 years older than Nessie, we could all be dead right now. Luckily after our escape from the "almost war" our family had had smooth sailing... touch wood.

"What was that?" Edward asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Nothing," Alice shrugged. "Just random events. Some animals escaping from San Diego zoo. A couple of days of sun soon. Lucianne coming for a visit." Due to Alice not being able to see the future of werewolves, it had become incredibly hard for her to see the family's future. So most of the things Alice now saw did not revolve around us.

"Who's Lucianne?" Jake, Nessie and I asked together.

"Just a nomad we're quite friendly with." Alice explained.

"Why is she coming here?" Jake asked coolly. Jake and I had a mutual distaste of any vampire that had not joined the Cullens in their attempt to have the Volturi listen to their explanation of the fact that Nessie was not an immortal child, but a human-vampire hybrid. We thought them to be unmoral cowards.

"It's not like that with Lucianne," Jasper explained, knowing the explanation behind Jacob's tone. "We were never able to find her whilst gathering our friends. She moves around quite a bit."

"Well why has it taken her so long to visit?" Jake pressed.

"You know time isn't the same to vampires as it is to you Jake," Bella explained. "Years are like months when you can live for eternity." Jacob looked no more convinced than I but we continued to eat our food in silence.

"Where have you booked the wedding Auntie Alice?" Nessie piped up at random.

"I thought we could do it in the house again, like with your mom and dad," Alice replied.

"Cool," Nessie nodded thoughtfully. "When are you sending out invitations?"

"As soon you've told whoever else you need to tell."

"I only have Grandpa left to tell, I'll meet Jake and Seth down in La Push after the dress fitting I guess. Are you coming too mom?"

"Of course she is," Alice jumped in. "She's getting one fitted too." Bella groaned and we all laughed. Edward kissed the top of her head.

"At least you won't be the main victim of her dress fitting tyranny like our wedding."

"That's true," Bella agreed.

"Is she really that bad?" Nessie asked nervously.

"Worse," Bella smiled wrly at her daughter. Nessie gulped and Alice gave a smile that , despite intended to depict innocence, looked incredibly menacing.

**So, that's the first chapter, what do you think? :)  
I admit it's a bit slow, I was just getting into the swing of things, it picks up I promise ^_^ x x**


	2. Enough News To Last A Lifetime

"Ready to race?" Jake asked, straightening up. I finished tying my spare pair of clothes to my leg and stood to face him.

"Bring it," I challenged, following him down the porch steps.

"Ready... Set... GO!" Of course I had no real chance of beating my pack leader. He was far too quick at transforming, not to mention bigger and faster than me in wolf form. I watched as he leapt into the air, transforming so fast that by the time he'd landed he was a huge, russet brown wolf, shreds of his clothing left floating in the air behind him. I took slightly longer, feeling a long tremor shiver down my spine, then hearing the loud tearing of my clothes as my transformation from human to enormous, horse-sized wolf tore them into tatters of cloth. But soon enough I was flying through the forest after Jacob, my sandy-coloured paws beating rhythmically and smoothly against the forest floor. The trees were blurring into a sea of black around me, the only sounds were the wind whistling through my thick fur and the rustle of woodland creatures darting for cover from the supposed danger that was Jacob and I.

"_You're lagging kid," _Jacob teased, his thoughts breaking into the silence of my mind.

"_Not for long,_" I retorted, working my limbs into overload. My attempts to catch him up were futile, but the thrill of sprinting in wolf form dispersed any real concerns of finishing last.

We made it to La Push in what felt like no time at all, Jacob finishing in a clear first place of course. Grudgingly, we morphed back into our human forms, pulling on the extra clothes we'd tied to our legs.

"So, how we doing this? Billy first, then Charlie and Sue?" Jake asked, as we made our way in the general direction of Billy's house.

"Or I could go to Charlie and my mom's by myself, then meet you at Billy's afterwards?" I suggested. My reason behind this was that I knew from the thoughts Jake couldn't hide from me in our wolf form that he felt it a slight betrayal on Billy's part to be too friendly with Charlie and my mom. Though Billy had taken my mom's selection with good grace, he wasn't able to shield from Jake the sting of the rejection. It felt weird to know my mom's choice could just as easily have made Jake my step brother.

"Sure," Jake nodded, not quite able to disguise the underlying tone of relief in his voice. We exchanged a brief goodbye and I began my lonely walk towards my mom's house. I was pleased to see that like the Cullen's house, nothing in La Push had changed. The familiarity washed over me in a warm wave of welcome. Then my wandering eyes came to rest upon something, or someone that had changed. My pace slowed as I recognised with a jolt the girl in the front yard of one the small houses I was passing. I'd had a crush on Ellie Stokes since about the age of twelve. We'd gone to the same Quileute school in La Push, which had been a small school, making her beauty only that much more emphatic against such little competition. Time had done nothing but enhance the natural splendour that was Ellie. The deep, russet colour of her skin seemed to shimmer despite the complete lack of sunlight. Her long, luscious black hair cascading down her back like a waterfall gave a similar glint to water bouncing the sun's ray's from its glassy surface. Full lashes framed her almond shaped eyes, which were studded with onyx irises. She no longer had the slight curves of a developing teenager, but the fully matured figure of an adult woman. Mother Nature had been incredibly generous to her. I was fully at a stop now, gazing stupidly at the woman just a few feet away from me. She seemed to sense my eyes boring into her, because she looked straight at me with a slight frown.

"Can I help you?" She asked, suspicion tainting her tone.

"Ellie? Don't you recognise me? It's me, Seth." I explained stupidly.

"Seth?" She asked uncertainly. Then comprehension seemed to dawn on her pretty face. "Seth Clearwater?" She clarified.

"Yeah!" I grinned.

"Oh my god! It's been years since I last saw you!" She laughed, drifting over to me.

"I know. Erm... how've you been?" I asked, failing miserably at disguising my eagerness to talk to her. My twelve year old self would be going crazy at this moment.

"I've been great thanks. So, where did you ever disappear off to? You just seemed to drop off the face of the earth," she joked.

"I went to...England." Which was true enough.

"Oh... why England?" she asked curiously.

"Private school." I blurted out. Again, not a complete lie.

"Wow! You went all the way to England just for private school?" She asked, impressed.

"I-yeah. Well, yeah." I winced at what a complete idiot I must have sounded like.

"How come you don't have an English accent?" She asked.

"I do... I did... when I was there... But- I- It... erm... I picked up the American accent as soon as I got back here." I'd never realised what a terrible liar I was.

"Oh." She nodded. I wasn't quite sure if she'd bought it or not. "No one knew where you'd gone you know," she laughed. "Which was pretty amazing in a place as small as this. Seems like everyone knows everyone's business."

"So, you noticed I was gone?" I asked, proud of how well I masked the hopefulness in my voice.

"Erm... yeah." She replied. Looked like I wasn't the only bad liar around here.

"So... how long you in town for?" She asked, keen to change the subject.

"Just a few weeks. It's my niece's wedding."

"Aww. Well, we should get together sometime before you leave again." She smiled sincerely.

"We should?" I asked, dazed.

"Yeah," she giggled. "Here, let me give you my number."

By the time I made it to my mom's house I was in a complete haze of mystification. I'd glanced at the number Ellie had entered into my cellphone at least a dozen times, wondering if I'd perhaps imagined it all. Pretending I had the nerve to ask out Ellie Stokes had got me right through my pubescent years, as I'm sure it had for many other Quilleute boys (and maybe even girls) my age. My stay in Forks had definitely become more interesting, I thought, as I knocked on the door. It creaked open slowly to reveal my slightly aged mom. The years had greyed her jet black hair around the edges, and adorned her with a lot more wrinkles. But the warm smile that spread slowly across her matured face was exactly the same.

"Seth!" She exclaimed, the surprise widening her eyes.

"Hey mom!" I grinned, pulling her into a fierce hug.

"How you doin' Seth?" Asked Charlie, who was hovering behind my mom.

"Great thanks Charlie, how've you guys been?" After seven years worth of small talk was exchanged, and I'd managed to prise my mom's arms from around my waist, I joined them in the lounge for some catching up. Turned out my sister Leah was backpacking round different parts of America alone, which mom claimed had turned her prematurely grey with worrying. If I knew Leah, my mom would have been better worrying about the poor people who were going to come into contact with my sibling. She'd never had much patience for other human beings. We were soon joined by Jacob, who kept his greetings very formal and avoided eye contact with both Charlie and mom, then Bella and Nessie soon after, who both seemed slightly unhinged by their dress shopping experience.

"So what really brings you all here?" Charlie asked, after Jake and I were set up with cups of tea and a massive platters of biscuits, which Nessie and Bella had politely refused. I looked suitably abashed that Charlie had seen through my weak lie of "we were just in the neighbourhood." I wasn't doing so well on the lie front today.

"Well grandpa, Jake and I have some news," Nessie began, eyes twinkling with excitement. Charlie groaned jokingly.

"I think this family's given me enough "news" to last a lifetime." He eyed Bella accusingly, who was studying the pattern of the wallpaper intently. Once Charlie had married my mom, she'd revealed to him that Leah and I, as well as Jake, were werewolves. Charlie had taken this surprisingly well, since he'd already gotten over the shock of werewolves existing when Jake had transformed right in front of him. She'd then explained that the reason we became werewolves was that vampires had been living nearby, and we'd been protecting the citizens of Forks. He'd been a little faint at this exposure, but he'd kept it together. My mom had then revealed the secret that quite possibly caused Charlie to lose his mind. The Cullens were those vampires. Charlie had gone completely crazy, and stormed over to the Cullen's home with a shotgun in his hand and a crazed look in his eyes. Luckily Bella had managed to talk him out of his wild stupor before he did, well, attempted to do, some serious harm. So Charlie was now in on the secret, which Bella wasn't too thrilled about, since the price of a human knowing about vampires was either death via the Volturi or a sentence to vampirism. That was, of course, only if the Volturi found out, and we doubted we'd be seeing them again any time soon, since they'd run from our almost-war with their tails between their legs. Now the only secret that Charlie was not in on was the fact that Nessie was the biological child of Bella and Edward. He was happy swallowing the lie about her being Edward's orphaned niece, and frankly none of us were sure if he could be talked out of trying everything in his power to kill Edward upon discovery that Nessie was actually his biological Grandaugher.

"It's good news Grandpa, really," Nessie promised, perching on the arm of the chair Jacob was sat in and holding his hand lovingly.

"Okay, shoot," said Charlie, looking as though he was bracing himself.

"We're getting married!" Nessie exclaimed, her voice high with excitement. It may have just been me, but it looked like Bella and Jacob were mirroring me in the fact that the three of us were holding our breath.


	3. Potato Sacks Painted White

Charlie seemed to let the information process for a few seconds, though it felt much longer. Then he plastered a huge smile across his face and Bella, Jake and I exhaled simultaneously.

"That's great news kid," said Charlie, sounding genuinely pleased. He rose to his feet with his arms thrown wide open, enveloping Nessie in a huge bear hug.

"So you'll come?" She asked. Her voice sounded slightly muffled against his police cruiser jacket, which he obviously hadn't had a chance to change out of.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he beamed, his eyes crinkling with genuine contentment. Jake rose to his feet too.

"Thanks Charlie," he smiled, his voice authentically sincere.

"Congratulations son," said Charlie, returning the smile and shaking Jake's hand warmly. "You be sure to take care of my granddaughter for me."

"Believe me, no one will ever love her more than I do," Jake assured him, aiming a gooey, love-sick smile at Nessie. I noticed the corner of Bella's mouth twitch at this comment, but she bit her tongue.

"I think this calls for a drink, whiskey boys?" Charlie asked Jake and I.

"Sure," we nodded. Charlie moved out the room, and Jake took the chance to give Nessie a long, heartfelt kiss on the lips.

"Eww! I'm tryna eat here!" I moaned, spraying biscuit crumbs. Jake ignored me and threw one of his biscuits in my general direction, not breaking away from Nessie. I ducked and wrinkled my nose, pretty sure my disgusted expression was identical to Bella's.

"When are you going to tell Charlie that Alice is going to be measuring him for a suit as well?" I asked Bella with a huge grin.

"I thought I'd let him be surprised, no need to ruin his good mood right now," she smiled back.

"Well, that's everyone, we can send the invitations now," Nessie announced as we returned to the Cullen household.

"Excellent, I'll go and post them now then," Alice said, as she fluttered down the stairs towards us.

"How was dress shopping ladies?" Emmett called to Bella and Nessie from over on the couch where he was watching Sports on the enormous flat screen. Both made do with throwing him a filthy look. It may have just been me, but I could have sworn Emmett had a slight gleam in his eye, like he was waiting impatiently for something.

"It wasn't that bad," Alice argued, as she gathered the large pile of invitations together.

"No," Bella agreed. "It was worse."

"At least she's done with you," Nessie laughed. "She's not even started with me."

"What is there to do exactly?" I asked, feeling confused. Surely all you had to do was go to the shop, choose the dress and then buy it?

"Eurgh, don't even get me started," Nessie warned, rolling her eyes. "First I have to choose the design I want, then it's got to be made and adjusted to fit my shape exactly, then there's the veil and the gloves and the-"

"You'll be thanking me when I'm done, and you're not walking down the aisle in a potato sack that's painted white or something," Alice promised smugly.

"Yes, because that's what would happen if I didn't have you making me sift through thousands of wedding dress books until my eyes fell out my skull," Nessie grinned.

"I have to say Ness, she's a pain but she does a splendid job," Edward admitted, kissing the top of Bella's head.

"I just can't wait until this damn party's over with," Jake grumbled, descending the stairs with an enormous bowl of popcorn.

"Honey... if you call our wedding a party again... you may not be alive through the vows," Nessie grimaced.

"Speaking of vows, are you writing your own?" Alice queried.

"Yes," Nessie said, at the same time as Jake said "No." The couple looked at each other in bewilderment.

"No?" Nessie repeated.

"Yes?" Jake repeated.

"Of course we're writing our own vows," Nessie said.

"Aww c'mon Ness that'll take forever!" Jake whined, sitting himself down next to Emmett on the sofa.

"You don't think I'm worth it?" Asked Nessie, her eyes narrowed uncharacteristically.

"Well... yeah of course you're worth it, I just mean- It- I-" Jake stumbled over his words.

"Men aren't any good at writing their feelings down," I jumped in, coming to the rescue. What else was the best man for?

"Speaking of men and writing, have you written your best man speech yet Seth?" Alice asked, her expression a perfect imitation of Nessie's.

"I- erm... You don't want to write your own vows?" I asked in fake outraged, dragging the limelight quickly back to Jake, for which I was rewarded with a nasty look from the groom-to-be.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't. I'm rubbish with words." Jake explained helplessly.

"You'll be fine," Nessie smiled reassuringly, "Just say what you feel." How did women do that? She said it so softly yet it was obvious to us all that meant the argument was case closed, no further discussion allowed. They so must have taken a secret class in highschool males weren't allowed to know about. A brief silence fell over us, until Jacob yelled loudly. My eyes snapped quickly in his direction, quick enough to see that, from within his bowl of popcorn, a long, pale hand had popped up and was clutching at the air menacingly. Jake leapt up from the couch, sending the popcorn flying, and he was over on the other side of the room next to Nessie with vampire-like speed. I gasped as I realised the hand was actually emerging from within the sofa. I expected Emmett to dart away too. What I didn't expect, though what I probably should have, was for Emmett to erupt in a fit of booming laughter, slapping his knee and rolling off the sofa and onto the floor. Alice was chuckling lightly and even Edward was failing to hide a grin. Nessie and Bella, who like Jake and I were not in on the joke, were staring wide eyed at the hand. So quickly I'd have missed it if I blinked, the hand disappeared and became a young woman perched on the couch, a huge, mischievous smile pasted on her pale face.

"Everyone, this is Lucianne," Edward introduced her, waving his hand in her direction while Emmett recovered from his raucous fit of laughter.

"How do you do," she smiled politely, her accent a strange mix that I couldn't quite place.

"Oh, so you're Lucianne," Nessie acknowledged in understanding.

"I am, and I'm so sorry it's taken this long for us to meet," she apologised, rising to her feet in the unnatural fluid motion only a vampire could manage. "Seems I've missed out on quite a bit of the Cullen excitement," she smiled, glancing at Bella.

"Excitement is one word for it," Edward smiled, as Lucianne shook hands with Nessie and Bella.

"Definitely. To think I missed an almost fight with the Volturi," Lucianne shook her head regretfully. "And your marriage to such a beautiful creature," she beamed as she took in Bella's appearance. It was obvious that if Bella's marble face could flush with embarrassment it would have.

"Well, you're not going to miss mine are you?" Nessie asked amiably.

"Of course not, I've missed enough of you already," Lucianne replied, sounding genuinely regretful. "So, who's the lucky man?" Nessie nodded at Jake, who was stood frozen behind her, staring at Lucianne as if she might strike at any moment.

"Hmm, sorry about the scare, but no harm no foul eh?" She asked in a friendly tone, extending her hand. Jake shook it, still eying her suspiciously. "Don't worry," she assured him "I don't bite... werewolves at least." She flashed him a smile that showed off all her white gleaming teeth. "You stink far too much." Everyone but Jake and I laughed at this. Vampires and werewolves ordinarily smelled terrible to each other, but Jake and I had been with the Cullen's so long that I now barely noticed the sickly sweet smell that accompanied the Cullens and others of their kind.

At that moment Carlisle, Esme and Jasper came floating through the glass doors.

"Ah Lucianne, I thought I heard screaming," Carlisle chuckled.

"Yes, I'm never far from screams of terror," Lucianne chuckled, giving Carlisle, Esme and Jasper a quick embrace, like you do with a distant relative at a family reunion. Then she seemed to become aware of my presence.

"Oh hello, I didn't notice you," she smiled, gliding over to where I stood. I shook her icy stone hand. Her touch was so cold it stung. I looked at her properly. Like every other vampire I'd ever met, Lucianne was insanely and inhumanly beautiful. Her hair was a dark blood red, falling in loose curls all the way to her lower back and framing her round face. Like the Cullens, she had pale waxy skin and dark circles beneath her eyes. Unlike the Cullens, her pupils shone burgundy in the natural light still pouring in through the huge glass windows of the house. Despite the friendly smile on her face, I couldn't help but feel as though I was drowning in the bloody pool of her irises. I found myself wondering how many people she'd had to devour to achieve that colour; so much duller than the crimson I remembered Bella's being when she was a newborn.

"So Lucianne," Carlisle began. "How long will you be joining us for?"

"Oh, I'll probably depart straight after the wedding, you know how I hate to outstay my welcome," she smiled.

"Well as usual you can stay as long as you like, we enjoy the company of our friends here," he smiled warmly. "Although we do have to ask-"

"That I don't hunt in the immediate area?" Lucianne grinned, cutting him off. "Don't worry about it, there's no thrill to American prey, they barely put up a fight." I felt a shiver slide down my spine. Then a thought occurred when I noticed something about the sofa where her arm had been poking through moments before.

"How did you get your arm through the sofa without making a hole?" I asked, confused. She flashed her mischievous smile again.

"Like this." She grabbed my arm gently and held it up, then she put her hand straight through it, though I felt nothing. I gasped in amazement.

"Basically, I walk through walls," she explained, grinning at my reaction. "I also do this." I jumped as she disappeared from in front of me and reappeared directly across the room, even faster than a vampire should be able to.

"You teleport?" I gawked, impressed.

"Sure do," she smiled, appearing suddenly next to Bella and Edward.

"That's why she was so difficult to find when we were gathering people," Jasper explained in his calm voice.

"For which I've apologised a million times already," she said, glaring playfully at Jasper. "So, where will I be staying?"

"Come on, I'll show you your room. And find you some decent clothes for you to wear," Alice offered, eying the grubby t-shirt and worn down jeans that currently made up the nomad's attire. Lucianne groaned audibly but followed Alice out the room.

"Glad to have Alice's focus taken away from us for a while," Nessie joked.

"I heard that," Said Alice from upstairs.

"I'm not sure we really want "non vegetarian" vampires at the wedding Ness," Jacob said in a low nervous voice. "Vegetarian" was the joking nickname the Cullen's gave themselves as vampires that preyed on animal blood, not human.

"Don't be silly. She's a friend of the family. Besides, as long as she doesn't eat any of my wedding guests, I don't particularly mind," Nessie shrugged cheerfully.


	4. Fifteen Shirt Changes Later

**Helloooo. I realise it's very sad and pathetic to keep uploading a story when there's clearly no one reading it. But I'm hoping if I keep at it I might get a pity review =) But if you are reading this, thankyou =) it's mucho appreciated, seriously! x**

The next few days passed without much excitement. I managed to pluck up the courage to send a first text to Ellie. We'd been text chatting for hour's everyday. The money I'd gone through for my cellphone bill was astounding. Yet she was worth it. Alice continued dragging Nessie everywhere, forcing her to make firm decisions on every tiny possible detail of the wedding. Jake secretly moaned to me about how unfair it was that he had to write vows, causing me a twinge of guilt as I kept remembering that I had yet to write my best man speech. Jake and I had concluded that Lucianne wasn't quite as bad as we'd first assumed, as she fired hundreds of funny anecdotes and memories at us from all her travels around the world, which was simple when you could just teleport everywhere. My cell phone finally shattered the calm, slight monotony of the week when it vibrated violently, alerting me to the fact that I'd received a text message. I opened my inbox to find a text from Ellie waiting.

**Want to meet up somewhere? x**

I nearly jumped up out of my seat once the words had sunk in.

**Sure where do u want 2 meet **I replied, hopefully not too quickly. The key was to play it cool. Besides, she probably just wanted to meet to hang out as friends.

**La Push? x **I glanced out the window, seeing the dark clouds looming ominously. Ah who was I kidding? It could be thunder and lightning during a blizzard and I'd have still met up with her. I arranged to meet her in about an hour. I'd have to borrow one of the Cullen's cars, as she'd have found it suspicious that I'd walked the fifteen miles from Forks to La Push without breaking a sweat.

"Who you texting?" Asked Lucianne in a sing-song voice as she glanced over my shoulder.

"Just a girl," I muttered, slyly moving one hand over the screen of my cell phone.

"A girl or a _girl," _she asked tauntingly.

"None of your business," I grinned, giving her a false shove.

"I hope you're not going to go and meet her in that shirt," she smirked.

"What's wrong with my shirt?" I asked, offended.

"Nothing, nothing," she said innocently. "Just don't expect more than a friendly hug when you get there," she said, disappearing faster than I could blink. Stupid teleporting vampire. But maybe she had a point about the shirt.

One hour and about fifteen shirt changes later, I was sat waiting nervously on La Push beach. I was perched on a piece of driftwood from part of a ring, which surrounded a fire circle in the middle. The circle was black with charred leftover cinders of beach gatherings past. I tried to kid myself I was just staring calmly out at the sea, but I couldn't stop myself anxiously glancing around the beach, eagerly anticipating Ellie's arrival. The strong winds made the waves choppy and unsettled, reflecting the squirmy jerks of my nervous stomach. I finally caught sight of her approaching, and my tense frown was replaced by a relieved smile. She had her silky black hair tied into a high ponytail, and was wearing a plain white t shirt and stonewash jeans. She could have been wearing a bin liner and I would have still thought her beautiful.

"Hey Seth," she smiled. The smile of an angel.

"Hey," I replied, pleased with how casual I sounded.

"Lousy weather today isn't it?" She grimaced, staring up at the shadowy sky and taking a seat beside me on my piece of driftwood.

"Can we expect much else from the Olympic Peninsula?" I grinned. She laughed, a heavenly laugh, and looked at me with a smile I couldn't quite read.

"You're fun to talk to Seth, you know?"

"I've been told." I hadn't been told, but she didn't need to know.

"I'm really surprised you don't have a girlfriend you know."

"I'm still waiting for the right person." YOU, I'm waiting for _you_ I wanted to yell. "How have you managed to stay single?" I asked in genuine surprise.

"Oh, I just got out of a really bad relationship... type...thing..." she scowled.

"A relationship type thing?" I laughed.

"Yeah well, it was just one huge, long mistake. You remember Louis Jones from school?"

"Yeah?" 'Yeah' was an understatement. He was the biggest, most egotistical jerk ever created. He could totally erase all opinions that Native American's were a peaceful people.

"I've been dating him for five years. Biggest mistake ever. We were constantly on off, 'cause he was always cheating on me or hitting on other girls and it just got so tiring."

"Jerk," we both muttered. We looked at each other and laughed.

"So you broke up with him?" I asked.

"Yeah... I did." She nodded.

"Good, sounds like you're better off."

"Yeah... I am..." She mumbled, trailing off.

"So I guess you're not looking to date again for a while?" I asked.

"Nah... that is, not unless I find the right guy..." She said, looking at me intently. Oh my god! What did that mean? Was it a hint? A suggestion? Where was a Girl-English dictionary when you needed one??

"Oh," was all I could say. We settled into a calm silence, both of us staring out at the sea in deep thought. This was interrupted by the loud rumbling of thunder overhead, and the sudden splattering of heavy rain falling on us. We jumped up like we'd been shocked.

"Oh god my hair," she cried, shielding her head ineffectively with her arms.

"Here," I offered, removing my jacket and handing it to her.

"Aw Seth, thank you," she said gratefully, using it to cover her head. I walked, well, ran her back to her car, for once rather annoyed that we lived in the rainiest town in the United States. Ellie paused as she opened her car door, and then turned back to me.

"I'm having a party next week, just a little get together type thing. Will you come? I'm sure everyone would be glad to see you again?" She asked hopefully.

"Wouldn't miss it," I said seriously. Her face broke into a gratified smile.

"I'll text you the time and stuff okay?" She said as she climbed into her car.

"Great. See you next week then." I replied, closing her door for her. She smiled at me once more through her rain drenched window before kicking her car into life and driving away. I didn't even mind that she'd taken my favourite jacket. Okay, I minded a little, especially whilst trapped in the torrential flood that was a rainy day in La Push. Then I remembered the woman behind the reason I'd lost my jacket and I suddenly couldn't care less about much else but next week. I sighed and made my way back to Nessie's car, knowing Ellie's party couldn't come soon enough.

I wasn't concentrating as I made my way from the garage to the front door. I was still very much lost in thought about the conversation I'd shared with Ellie on the beach. However as I went to open the door, sharp voices speaking from within the house made me pause. The voices, I realised with a sigh, belonged to Rose and Jake. God only knew what had started this argument, but it seemed to be escalating. I decided this was a good place to stay until they broke it up, or someone else broke it up, or they killed each other. Any option was convenient for me.

"Bite me blondie!" Jake snarled in response to a remark Rosalie had made.

"Gladly," Rose hissed.

"Woah Rose, chill," I heard Emmett mutter. I imagined Rose had been about to strike.

"Don't tell me to chill Emmett! I've had it up to here with this infuriating mongrel! I'm sick of having him in my house! I want him out!" Rose's anger seemed to be growing, which tended to be an unfortunate side effect of Jasper not being home to use his powers to calm everyone down.

"Well, if that's how you want it, I don't want you at my wedding Barbie!" Jake retorted.

"Oh don't give me that wolf breath! There wouldn't even be a wedding if-"

"Rose. Don't," I heard Edward warn her suddenly in a low voice. He'd obviously read in her mind what she was about to say next and didn't like it.

"If what? Go on say it!" Jake challenged.

"No Rosalie!" Edward said through clenched teeth. I mostly didn't want her to say it, because I knew that if Edward thought it would cause trouble it definitely would. However, a part of me, filled with morbid curiosity, wanted to know what Rosalie could possibly say that was that bad.

"If Renesmee knew that you were in love with her mother first." Rose spat. Oh, that's what Rosalie could say that was that bad. A tense silence followed her revelation, as everyone awaited Renesmee's reaction with baited breath.


	5. Baby Pink Jackets And Giant Chickens

"What?" Asked Nessie in a low, icy voice. No one spoke. Even out here I could practically feel the smugness radiating from Rosalie as she saw how much trouble she'd gotten Jake in.

"Is that true Jake?" Nessie asked, her voice uncharacteristically frosty.

"I-erm... Ness... c'mon," Jake stuttered nervously.

"Is it true?" She asked again, emphasising each syllable slowly.

"Well... yeah-but.... Ness... honey-"

"Wow, you were in love with her mom? That's pretty messed up," Lucianne commented unhelpfully. I could imagine everyone wishing to fry her death with their annoyed glances.

"I...I can't believe this." Nessie muttered

"Ness look- I know-"

"Don't TOUCH me!" Nessie exploded, as I guessed that Jake had touched her. "How can you expect me to marry you when you're in love with my _mother_?! Do you realise how sick, how twisted that is? How-"

"Nessie, sweetie-" Bella chimed in.

"Please mom. Don't!" Nessie cut across her. "How could you keep this from me? When all this time... every kiss Jake and I have shared... he's been thinking 'wow you're mom was a lot better than this' or 'I wonder what Renesmee's mom is doing right now.' How could you humiliate me like this?"

"No please Ness, it's not like that! Bella and I only ever kissed once and-"

"ARGH!" Nessie screamed, apparently beyond human words.

"Renesmee, don't go," said Edward calmly, obviously reading her thoughts before she carried out the action.

"I-I have to get out of here. Away from you. Away from all of you," she exclaimed, her voice becoming thick as she spoke through tears. "I need time alone." I jumped out the way just in time as the door was wrenched open and Nessie came flying out, her face thunderous and the surface of her eyes glassy with tears of fury. She took off into the woods, running not quite at vampiric speed but a lot faster than the average human. I stared after her wide eyed as Jake came to the door, eyes wild with worry.

"I think you should leave her for a while man," I suggested wisely, thinking strongly of the phrase about women being scorned and having more fury than hell or something. It didn't sound inviting.

"I don't want her to be alone," Jake moaned, though he looked like he agreed with the sensibility behind my idea.

"Seth, I think you should go," said Edward from within the house.

"Me? Why me?" I asked, ignoring how stupid I felt talking to a door.

"Renesmee isn't going to listen to Bella, Jacob or myself right now, and you're her friend." I couldn't argue with that logic. The man spoke sense.

"Thankyou," he said, clearly hearing my thoughts.

"You okay with me going?" I checked with Jake.

"What? Yeah yeah I've done enough damage. Just go man," said Jake, his face strained with worry. Seeing her upset must have been tearing him up at the minute, with the whole imprinting thing and all.

"It's not your fault you know," I tried to console him. He threw me an I-thoroughly-disagree type look. I gave him a grim nod. I then sprinted into the forest and, feeling that shiver I'd become well accustomed to, burst into the sandy, horse-sized wolf I was so used to becoming. I pressed my nose to the cold, wet ground, chiding myself for forgetting to remove my clothes before I transformed. My favourite jacket and now my favourite shirt all lost in one very trying day. I didn't have much trouble following Nessie's scent, despite the various scents of the Cullen's and Jacob's criss-crossing each other all over the place. Nessie's wasn't quite as strong as the other vampire's, all of which made my nose burn with each intake of breath. Her scent was one that was a very even mix between human and vampire, the most unique one I'd ever smelt, as there weren't very many vampire-human hybrids running around Forks to my knowledge. I followed the scent all the way to a place where the forest became less thick. The rain was managing to filter through the tree tops, which were making a miserable attempt at waterproofing the forest floor. The scent led to the base of one of the trees, and I stared at it in puzzlement, my head twisting to the side in the typical confused dog fashion.

"Seth," I heard Nessie call from above me. "You can't possibly be thinking I'm inside the tree." I looked up, glad that wolves couldn't blush. There she was, perched on the top most branches. I whined pathetically at her, my way of asking if she was alright.

"You forgot to bring a spare change of clothes with you didn't you?" She asked, trying not to smile through her gloom. I whined a yes. I didn't need to be able to see her eyes to know she was rolling them as she stripped off her jacket.

"Here," she said, throwing it down to me. I barked my appreciation, then went and hid behind one of the thicker trees while I transformed back to human form. I tied Nessie's jacket round my waist, making sure the bigger part was covering the front of me. I then made my attempts at climbing the tree Nessie had chosen as a sitting place, slipping occasionally on the wet branches but recovering before I fell. I finally reached her and placed myself on the branches just beneath her.

"You can keep that jacket by the way," she said, not looking down at me, probably to give me some dignity. I think I'd lost that when I'd tied the baby pink jacket around myself.

"I think I would judge you if you kept it to be honest," I admitted. This got a small laugh out of her.

"So why are you here Seth? To tell me I'm wrong?" She inquired.

"That depends," I replied, quoting our favourite commercial.

"On what?"

"If your thoughts are wrong."

"You want to know what I'm thinking?" She asked.

"I sure do." She reached her hand down towards me, and I took it gently. Using her gift, Nessie began to show me a range of pictures that were formed in her head. First, she showed me the image of her and Jacob arguing in the house, this memory was tainted with anger. Then she showed me a thought she'd made up, the image of her mom and Jacob locked in a passionate kiss. This she kept replaying, feeling different about it each time, sad, angry, jealous, disgusted. Then came an image of her deciding to break up with Jacob; she was handing him the engagement ring he'd given her, heartbreak and remorse painted on both their faces. There was Rose's face as well, which was stained by anger, then Bella's face, again an angry memory. Then came her shouting at Bella and Jake, her face twisted with rage. But then Jacob's face was next, and the memory was loving, wanting to forgive. But then she saw her and Jake at the wedding, and Jake wouldn't stop looking at Bella. Finally it all stopped, and she slipped her shaking hand out of mine.

"Wow, that was a mouthful," I said.

"Yep," she replied, fresh tears trickling down her face. I stood awkwardly on my branch, praying I didn't fall to my doom as I wrapped my arms around her reassuringly. She touched me again and she played me this scene, except it was filled with trust rather than a negative emotion. I smiled.

"You can trust Jake too you know. He'd do anything for you." I assured her.

"He lied to me," she muttered bitterly.

"He didn't lie Ness, he tried to protect you from something he knew would hurt you. I don't think anybody could think of a good time to admit that they were once in love with their future spouse's mother." I grinned.

"So... he did love her?" She asked in a small voice.

"Yeah." I admitted truthfully. "And she loved him."

"You're not making this any better you know!" She warned me.

"Let me finish." I laughed, putting a hand over her mouth. "They did love each other. Past tense. They were best friends who accidentally fell in love, but your mom loved your dad more. Yeah, it hurt Jake at first, but then you came along, and he loves you a million, no a trillion more times than he ever loved Bella."

"So I'm basically the sloppy seconds," she mumbled.

"No way! Look, he fell in love with her when your dad left... but then-"

"When did dad leave her?" Asked Nessie shocked.

"Have you been told nothing?" I asked in surprise. She threw me a reproachful look and I delved into the whole story, starting with how Edward left Bella and ending with Bella and Edward returning from the honeymoon.

"Jake had been starting to get over Bella," I continued the story. "We could all see it in his wolf thoughts. But when Bella became pregnant with you, she started acting like Jake was her most favourite person in the world, like she couldn't bear to be without him. It hurt him bad, since he was trying to get over her. But when you were born, it all became clear. It had been _you_ who wanted Jake. _You _who needed Jake. You became the centre of his universe the minute he saw you and imprinted on you. And I've seen imprinting, it's pretty spectacular. I mean, you know that, you're a part of it. That tie you feel to him, that he feels to you, will take a lot more than a silly fight to destroy. You're each other's gravity, each other's lives, each other's world. Don't judge him for not telling you about him and Bella, he's only ever wanted what's best for you, to give you what you need since the minute he saw you. He couldn't want anything else. And what he knows you need is happiness and love, and he's always strived to give it to you, no matter what the cost. So has your mom for that matter, it's killing them right now knowing you're in pain, just like it's killing _you_ being mad at them both. You and Jake are meant to be, the love you share is more powerful than regular love, more magical. Not many people will ever have the opportunity of feeling the way you two feel about each other. People spend their whole lives searching for that level of commitment and dedication. So let's head back and you can all stop internally killing yourselves." Ness was quiet for a few minutes, and then she placed her hand on my face. It was me and her hugging again. I smiled and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you," she whispered in my ear. "I love you Uncle Seth."

"I love you too giant chicken." She pulled away and looked at me as if I'd gone mad.

"Sorry," I apologised with a huge grin. "I'm starving, and may be hallucinating." She hit me on the arm for ruining the moment.

"Are you two done yet?" A voice asked from at the bottom of the tree. We looked down in shock to see Lucianne staring up at us, hands on her hips.

"How long have you been stood there?" I asked, realising how intensely focused Nessie and I had been on my speech.

"Long enough to have a few tears in my eyes," she grinned, making me jump as she appeared suddenly on the branch next to me.

"Haha," I laughed sarcastically. "Why are you here?"

"Hmph, I'll leave then. Just thought I'd come let you know tea's ready, and Jake asked me to bring you these," she said, offering me a pair of jogging bottoms. "Though I have to say pink is definitely your colour." She winked. I grumbled my thanks and snatched the clothes from her outstretched hand.

"Feeling better?" She asked Nessie kindly.

"Yeah thanks, too much drama." Nessie laughed.

"I'll say, imagine taking it onto one of those corny American chat shows. 'My mom kissed my fiancée before I was born and now I can't stop picturing it'" She laughed. Nessie managed a grimace.

"Too soon?" Lucianne asked sympathetically. Nessie nodded.

"Well let me know when it's not, 'cause I've got plenty of jokes on the subject," Lucianne promised, flashing Nessie a bright, toothy smile. Nessie laughed then looked at me.

"Well Seth, let's get home before you start eating me and Lucianne." She joked. She began to clamber down the branches with ease, and then looked back up at me.

"Oh, and Seth, I know you're probably already done with your speech, but please try to add some of that in, it was beautiful." She smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm on it," I winked.

"You haven't written anything yet have you?" Lucianne whispered, low enough that Nessie wouldn't be able to hear.

"Nope." I replied.

"And you can't remember a word of what you just said, can you?"  
"Nope."


	6. Ham and Dracula

Nessie, Lucianne and I arrived home to the worried yet relieved faces of the Cullens and, of course, Jacob. The first thing Nessie did was to run into Jake's arms, who wore a smile that stretched so wide it looked like it should be hurting his face and swung her round.

"I'm sorry-," he began earnestly.

"No, I'm sorry! For being mad at you for something that happened before I was even born! It's all about me and you now, for the rest of eternity." Everyone stood smiling warmly and then slowly began dispersing from the room, slyly permitting the couple some time alone. I just followed the smell of food floating from within the kitchen, filling my mouth with saliva. Esme had cooked a mammoth-sized joint of ham, from which the sensuous aroma was being produced. I sawed myself off an enormous slab and put it on a plate, though I seriously considered forgetting Jake and eating the whole thing. Whilst I was thinking this, Jake entered the kitchen, as if reading my mind, and knowing of the possible loss of food. He looked rather pleased with himself, and had a goofy grin plastered to his face.

"That was fast making up," I noted, taking a huge bite of my ham so quickly that I burnt my mouth.

"You want a drink?" Asked Jake as he watched me splutter and choke. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade, filling two glasses that he pulled out of the cupboard. I gulped mine down and then gasped for breath.

"Attractive," Jake cringed. "Anyways, the reason we made up so quick was Ness wanted to go make up with Bella. I don't know what you said man but thanks."

"I only told her the truth," I shrugged, wiping away the tears that had formed in my eyes during my choking fit.

"Well thanks, I owe you one." He said sincerely.

"Nah, I'll call it even since you got Lucianne to bring me these pants," I grinned.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You, telling Lucianne to bring me my pants when she found me and Nessie."

"I never did that."

We both stood looking at each other in confusion for a few seconds, then shrugged and continued scoffing down our food.

I found Lucianne in the guest room upstairs, curled up on a chair and reading a large and old fashioned-looking book.

"Hey Seth," she said, not looking up.

"Hey," I replied, lingering at her door.

"Don't hover, it makes me edgy," she muttered. I scanned the room and found the only other piece of furniture was a bed next to the chair she was on. I perched on the edge of it, like you did when sat on a chair in a stranger's home.

"So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" She asked, setting her book down.

"Just thought I'd thank you for the clothes before, that apparently were not Jake's idea," I grinned.

"Okay okay, you caught me, I have a soft side, I can't stand to see a werewolf clothes-less," she admitted, returning my grin.

"Was there something else you needed?" She asked, after a moment's silence.

"I was actually wondering... how much of that speech I gave to Nessie that you heard?" I asked.

"Erm... pretty much all of it... why?" She asked, confused. I smiled at her innocently and she rolled her burgundy eyes.

"Would you like me to relay it to you so that you can include it in your non-existent speech?" She asked.

"Well, if you don't mind," I replied brightly.

"Hmm, I was reading my book, but I suppose I have the rest of eternity for that." She shrugged.

"Thanks." I smiled. "What book are you reading anyway? It looks old... and boring." She held up it up so that I could read the faded gold letters on the slightly battered cover.

"Dracula," I read slowly. "Hmm, a vampire reading Dracula?" I asked sceptically.

"You have to love the human perception of vampires. All this dying in daylight and death by stabbing in the heart is so funny," she chuckled.

"Oh yeah, the whole wooden stake while they sleep thing?" I asked, recalling forgotten episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

"Well actually, they just use a Bowie knife in this novel, I've no idea where the wooden stake thing came from," she admitted.

"Hmm strange," I nodded. "Be right back." I went to my room to retrieve a pen and notepad and then returned to my place on the bed, edging back a little bit more than before.

"Ah, so you were just making Dracula small talk to butter me up were you?" She joked.

"No. We can continue dissecting vampire myths if you so wish it. How about the thing with vampires not having reflections? Weird right?" She laughed and shook her head.

"You're weird." She said. "So, which parts of your very moving speech would you like me to recall?"

"As much as you can," I said hopefully.

"Well... let's see... there was something about when Renesmee was in Bella's womb she needed Jacob... then... something about from birth she was the centre of his universe, and... they're each other's gravity, lives and world. Erm... he's always strived to make her happy no matter what the cost and... the love Renesmee and Jacob share is more powerful and magical than regular love... and other people would die to be like them...and people spend their lives trying to find that sort of commitment."

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff," I said, glad she'd finished as my writing hand was beginning to ache.

"Tell me about it, I couldn't wait for you to shut up," she agreed. I threw a pillow at her which she caught easily and had launched back at me within a matter of seconds.

"I take it you won't be able to mention the whole imprinting thing with humans going to the wedding?" She asked.

"Well, it depends if Jake's sisters RSVP yes. The only other humans than that are Charlie, my mom and Jake's dad, who all know. And everyone else that Jake invites will be werewolves and spouses of werewolves."

"Oh god the place is going to stink," she moaned.

"You know, you're no basket of roses either," I pointed out.

"Don't be ridiculous, I smell lovely."

"Yeah, to humans!" I grinned. "Speaking of which... are you sure you'll be able to... control... yourself at the wedding?"

"I won't eat your mom if that's what you're implying," she grinned. "I'll hunt beforehand so that I'm nice and full." I shuddered involuntarily.

"That really bothers you doesn't it?" She asked, her voice surprisingly considerate.

"Well, yeah. Doesn't it... ever bother you?" I asked. She looked surprised, as though she'd never put any thought into the answer before. She took a few seconds considering my question.

"I think I've been doing it too long for it to bother me. I don't really think of them as people anymore, at least not the ones whose blood I drink."

"How old are you?" I asked curiously.

"Twenty one," she grinned.

"Okay, how long have you been alive?" I grinned back.

"Two hundred and ten years, give or take a couple of decades," she shrugged.

"Wow. Two hundred year's worth of drinking human blood." I said uneasily. I couldn't believe I was discussing the topic so... casually. My sole purpose as a werewolf was to prevent the loss of human life, protect them against vampires. Now I was talking so normally about it, as though it wasn't a disgustingly huge deal.

"Two hundred ten," she winked.

"Have you ever considered... being a vegetarian?" I asked.

"Have you?" She asked. I hadn't expected that reply.

"No," I answered honestly.

"But... you think that eating cows and eating humans is way different, correct?"

"Yeah," I admitted, surprised.

"Well, you have to understand, I don't see much of a difference between cows and humans. Both are sentient beings, both give birth to live young, the female of both species produces milk, and both even moo." Despite the grim nature of our discussion I couldn't help laughing.

"When have you ever heard someone moo?" I asked dubiously.

"Hey, when you've been around for two centuries you feel like you've seen and heard everything," she assured me.

"So what's the weirdest thing you've ever seen?" I asked interestedly.

"A two headed pig," she said seriously. We both burst into peals of laughter.

"What is your thing with farm animals?" I chuckled.

"I don't know, they're just so cool. Especially geese. That hissing noise they make. HSSSSSSS" The expression on her stunning face as she imitated a goose literally had me rolling around the bed with laughter. It was amazing how much I'd grown to like Lucianne in this short space of time I'd spent with her.

"So, are you going to tell me about this girl you've been texting?" She asked with a wink.

"Ellie? What's there to say about her? She's amazing. Beautiful. Smart. Way out of my league." I sighed.

"I bet that's not true, you're not so bad yourself. I'd rate you as a six. Maybe seven if you put a shirt on." She grinned.

"Thanks, but Ellie's like, an eleven, she's not even on the scale."

"Eleven isn't off the scale. The scale I was using goes up to a hundred." I made do with sticking my tongue out at her, remembering the pain inflicted from throwing the pillow earlier.

"So, has she made any moves on you? Invited you out somewhere? Flashed her tail feathers at you?"

"Flashed her tail feathers?" I asked incredulously.

"No wait, maybe that's peacocks... male peacocks at that rate." I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"I guess she was the one who invited me down to La Push to meet up... and she's invited me to a party at her house next week."

"Well, there you go! That's the pinnacle of human mating rituals these days! She's a slaughtered, sacrificed goat away from dragging you back to her cave for human love making."

"What human mating rituals do you watch??" I asked, disturbed.

"I don't watch. It's disgusting. But anyway, I've watched enough bad American movies to know she's... what's the word... flirting?"

"Hmm... I don't know... suppose I'll find out next week."

"You will if you get a decent shirt."

"Would you stop obsessing over my shirt!"

"Sorry."

"Anyways, I think I'm gonna go hit the sack. Night."

"And I'm going to return to reading about Van Helsing filling Lucy's severed head with garlic."

"Sounds fun. And thanks for helping me with the speech," I smiled.

"Thanks for keeping me company," she smiled back.


	7. You Didn't Know Me At All

A week had passed so quickly I felt sure time had been sped up. I'd managed to write down two lines of my best man speech, though I'd convinced everyone that it was finished. I'd get round to it eventually, but right now I had bigger fish to fry. Tonight was Ellie's party, and I'd spent the whole day sweating profusely and watching every clock in the house tick agonisingly slowly. I was now staring at my reflection in one of the windows downstairs. I'd asked Alice to pick me out a shirt, which had even actually been approved by Lucianne. I was now just trying to settle enough to be in a fit state to drive.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there Seth? You look as though you're going to pass out," Alice noted.

"I'm fine," I replied, trying to convince myself more than her.

"Don't worry about it," Lucianne assured me. "You're a definite nine in that shirt, and my scale this time goes up to ten." I forced a smile then took a deep breath.

"Wish me luck," I muttered.

"People don't need luck when they've been dressed by me," Alice insisted, folding her tiny arms across her chest.

"Just therapy," Bella muttered.

I parked quite far away from Ellie's house, as it was already swarmed by cars. I think she may have down played it when she described it as 'a little get together type thing.'

"Hey Seth!" Ellie greeted me excitedly once she'd opened the door. She looked astonishing in a tight black dress, her dark hair left to fall freely down her back. The natural make up she'd applied to her face was clearly only there to perfect perfection.

"Hi," I replied, my voice sounding a little high strung. She pulled me gently inside, her look making me feel like I was the most important person at the party. I was introduced to a whole bunch of people who I was supposed to remember, and I nodded politely and laughed at anecdotes from highschool. I accepted the alcohol I was offered and took a seat where there was a space. Maybe I'd been living with sophisticated vampires for too long, but this party seemed very mundane. I found the forced small talk monotonous, and the girls stumbling round pretending to be drunk. It all just seemed ridiculously pointless and well... human. It was quite shocking to think this could have been my life if the Cullen's hadn't come along. I definitely preferred my werewolf, it gave me a sense of passion and adventure. That's what had driven me to leave Forks with the Cullens and Jacob all those years ago. Regular life just wasn't for me.

"Are you having a good time Seth?" Ellie asked, occupying the now vacant seat next to me.

"Yeah, it's really good," I lied.

"I'm really glad you came," she told me, fluttering her long eyelashes at me. Her voice slightly slurred.

"You are?" I asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course, I would rather you were here than everyone else," she whispered, her lips very close to my ear.

"How drunk are you?" I asked doubtfully.

"I've had two glasses of wine, so... a bit tipsy but still in control of my mouth," she laughed. I suddenly heard the door opening, even over the sound of the loud, blaring music and chattering voices. Ellie caught the movement in her peripheral vision and looked over, a strange expression clouding her face. Before I could join her in seeing who had entered the room, her lips were suddenly mashed against mine. It was a fierce kiss, possibly fuelled by her alcohol intake, but I wasn't complaining. Our mouths moved together in a rhythmic and intense fashion. She hooked both her delicate arms around my neck and pulled herself forward until she was half on my lap. It felt strange. Okay strange, but something was missing that I couldn't put my finger on. I should have been elated to finally be kissing Ellie Stokes. But there was definitely something that wasn't there... that should have been....

"What the hell!" This voice only grabbed my attention was because it was so irritatingly familiar. I wrenched my face away from Ellie's to see Louis Jones staring in disgust and bewilderment directly at Ellie and me.

"What are you doing here Louis?" Ellie asked angrily.

"You invited me! What are you doing with this guy?" He retorted.

"What business is it of yours? You broke up with me! I can be with anyone I want!" She shrugged.

"He broke up with you?" I asked her, confused.

"That doesn't mean you just go macking on people right in front of me! You did it deliberately. What, are you trying to make me jealous or something?" He yelled. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that the music had been turned off, people were staring at the fight opened mouthed, and Ellie was still practically straddling me.

"Oh! Everything's about you isn't it Lois? For all you know I really like Seth!" Ellie argued.

"Seth?" Lois blinked. Then he finally seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Yes, Seth Clearwater!" Louis took in my appearance and then burst out laughing.

"Seth Queerwater? That's who you're using to make me jealous?" He howled. His idiotic crew, who were gathered around him menacingly, were chortling appreciatively. My fists clenched at the sound of my old 'nickname.'

"You seriously need your head checking Ellie. You thick cow." He sniggered nastily. I'd suddenly had enough.

"Shut up Louis," I said quietly, yet loud enough for him to hear.

"Don't talk to me like that Queerwater! You're nothing but a pathetic homo loser, just like your dad was." I was on my feet immediately on my feet, sending Ellie tumbling to the ground with little dignity. This provoked a chorus of 'ooooh's from Louis's mob of meatheads. Louis smirked, a cocky, arrogant smirk that you just wanted to knock clean off of his face. We squared up to each other, the room becoming so quiet I wanted to check that people were still breathing.

"Do you want to say that again Louis?" I asked in a dangerous whisper. He flashed me that stupid smirk again. He seemed to be judging me harmless, which was a big mistake. Luckily for him, I was a mature werewolf, and I no longer transformed on the impulse of anger. However, it didn't mean I wasn't twice, maybe three times stronger than him, though my slightly muscled body didn't look much next to his bulked up biceps that were clearly the result of hours everyday in the gym.

"Which bit? The part about you being a pathetic homo loser? Or the part about you being a loser, just like your dad?" He said the last part very slowly.

His nose made a very satisfying crunch as my fist made contact with it. I tried not to put all my force behind the swing, as it probably would have caused his fragile human face to cave in or something. I did, however, put enough force behind it that he went flying four feet backwards through the air and smacked into the wall with a loud bang. His unconscious form slide to the floor, revealing the huge, Louis shaped dent left in the plaster. The silence was deafening, and then all hell broke lose.

"You're nuts!" One of his gang yelled, over the female screams and orders to dial 911. I rolled my eyes, and stepped over Louis's lifeless body, his gang giving me a wide birth, like I would strike at any minute. I began making my way to the borrowed car I'd driven here in, glad for the refreshing night air.

"Seth! Seth!" I heard a voice yelling behind me. I turned to see Ellie running towards me.

"Are you here to avenge your boyfriend?" I asked coolly.

"No," she replied. "But I can't believe you did that to him, he's really hurt, what are you going to do if he wants to press charges?"

"I'd hit him again if it was a choice between that and going to prison," I growled.

"I can't believe you," she said, shaking her head sadly. "I thought I knew you." I narrowed my eyes.

"Go on then Ellie, what did you think you knew about me?"

"That you were a sweet, smart guy who would never resort to this sort of petty violence," she said.

"Well then you didn't know me at all. I'm obviously not smart, because I was stupid enough to think that you actually liked me." I said bitterly.

"I did like you!" She argued.

"So you deny that you were using me?"

"I-I..."

"Go on! Deny that you were trying to make Louis jealous using me! Deny that you were getting back at him for dumping you! Deny that you've been lying to me since the minute we met!" I yelled. She looked lost for words. A part of me was hoping she would deny it. Hoping there was a different, rational explanation for her kissing me as soon as he walked through the door, for lying about breaking up with him, for inviting him to her party when she knew she'd be making a move on me. But she couldn't. And I shouldn't have expected anything more.

"Goodbye Ellie," I said shortly. Then I ran into the forest. Forgetting her. Forgetting I'd come in a car. Forgetting Alice would kill me for destroying the shirt. I shuddered all over and became the wolf in a matter of seconds. I raced through the trees, caring about nothing around me. I wasn't Seth, I was the wolf now. I didn't care about trivial things like women and being alone, all I cared about was going as far I could, as fast as I could. I climbed rapidly up a steep cliff, grinding to a stop when I came to the edge. I peered down at the sheer drop, then up at the black sky. There were no stars tonight, no moon, no light. In what had to have been the most cliché scene ever, I threw back my furry head and howled in rage at the emptiness surrounding me. The echoes were my only reply.


	8. Monsters Don't Have Feelings

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to Orelina aka ME, whose reviews have made me feel like my fic is worth writing =) Thanks xx**

I had hit a writer's block. My pen hovered over the paper, willing me to provide it with ideas to jot down. I'd finally gotten around to writing my best man's speech. The only problem was; how did you write a speech about two people being in love, when your own love life was in a dark and wretched place? I kept reading over the words I'd already managed to write, hoping it would provoke more ideas. I only succeeded in doubting the success of what I'd managed to scrawl down so far.

"How's things?" Asked a voice suddenly. I jumped and turned to see Lucianne perched on my bed.

"Fine," I replied, despite the fact that I was clearly not.

"Has she texted you again?" Lucianne enquired. She didn't need to say the name for me to know who she was talking about.

"No, not since after the party," I shrugged. I'd received a message from Ellie the day after I'd knocked out her ex, telling me she'd convinced Louis not to press charges. I'd never really had concerns of charges being pressed, since my step father was the chief of the Forks Police Force. What I was concerned about was the fact that she'd completely used me without the slightest hint of remorse. I felt so stupid.

"Would you like me to suck her blood?" Lucianne offered. I pretended to put some consideration into the proposal.

"No, I'd only feel guilty about it afterwards," I concluded.

"Wimp," Lucianne sighed, rolling her eyes. "Are you at least going to be coming out of this room anytime soon?"

"I haven't been in here that long," I protested.

"Two weeks is a long time to stay in one room, and if a vampire says it's long, it's long," she nodded.

"Oh... I hadn't really noticed the time passing," I shrugged.

"God, did you really like her that much?" Lucianne asked, looking at me with pity.

"Well see... that's the thing... I don't think I'm even that bothered about Ellie. I think what I really liked was the idea of having someone you know? I guess you spend all your time with a family of vampires who are all coupled up and the loneliness kind of gets to you. Does that make sense? I mean in a way... you're kind of in the same boat right?"

"You'd think being a nomad vampire I'd completely empathise with that... but I don't." She shrugged. "I like being on my own. I'm more alone than I am lonely. I've tried the whole travelling with other nomads thing, and I only end up getting annoyed and destroying them. I've always thought spending too much time with the same person would drive me absolutely insane. It would just get so boring and predictable, especially when you're serving the sentence for eternity rather than just a lifetime, so I don't really think I am in the same boat. I enjoy solitude, it's peaceful." She explained.

"That makes sense," I admitted. "Carlisle told me that vampires who drink human blood are less... human than the Cullens, so I guess you can't really feel human emotions properly like love and loneliness." A look flickered across her face, almost a sad look, but then it was gone and replaced by a grin.

"Exactly. I'm a monster. Monster's don't have feelings."

"You're not a monster," I argued.

"Please, I'm what haunts the dreams of small children. Tell me you never had a nightmare as a kid about something coming in the night to drink your blood." She challenged me.

"Nah, I was too busy having nightmares about clowns to entertain the idea of vampires," I grinned.

"Clowns?" She laughed.

"Hey, don't judge me! The way they paint those creepy smiles on their faces and make animals out of balloons that don't even look like animals!"

"Now that's not fair, the swans look like swans," she argued.

"Creepy swans," I grinned.

"Shame they're not geese, geese are cool." She nodded. We both paused and then simulataneously gave a loud HSSSSSSS and burst out laughing. It felt like the first time I'd laughed in ages.

"So, was there an actual reason you came up here? Other than to offer to be a vampire hit man and make goose noises?" I asked.

"Not really, I'm bored and wanted to know how your speech thing was coming along," she admitted.

"It isn't really," I muttered. I tried to slyly push the paper under a larger pile of papers out of sight, but was stupid to believe this would be missed by a vampire's sharp sight.

"Let me see!" She demanded, snatching it up. I cringed as her eyes flew over the very few lines I'd written.

"This is... bad," she said, shaking her head.

"It's not bad! It's just incomplete," I defended myself.

"No, it's just bad," she told me matter-of-factly.

"I know," I groaned. "I can't think of anything."

"Well... you better hurry... you have like two weeks left!"

"Help me!" I whined pathetically. She looked at me despairingly for a few moments and then shook her head.

"Okay," she said. "Well first off, you're the best man, so it has to be a little more light hearted than this. You're supposed to be the funny one, her dad's the one who's supposed to give the tear jerking speech. You come along to lighten the mood."

"I'm not in the mood to be funny," I muttered sulkily.

"Ah, you see the negative side effects of human emotion?" She taunted. I scrunched my face up at her.

"So," she carried on. "You need to start with one of those cheesy jokes that people laugh at no matter how much it sucks, cos they're already high on champagne. You know like 'Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - Let me first say that the bridesmaids look absolutely smashing today, and only rightly outshone by our bride. And, I'm sure you'll agree with me gentlemen, today is a sad day for single men, as another beauty leaves the available list. And ladies, I'm sure you'll agree that today's passing by without much of a ripple.' Something like that."

"Write that down for me?" I asked sweetly. She rolled her bloody irises but wrote it down on the back of the piece of paper I'd been using for my script.

"What else you got?" I asked hopefully.

"No no! I'm not writing this thing for you! You come up with something!" She insisted. I sighed.

"Erm... ladies and gentlemen... before I start... can I ask for health and safety reasons that none of you get up on the chairs and tables during my standing ov- no that's lame." I winced.

"No that was good," she encouraged. "Very cheesy and a degree of cockiness in there, very nice." She wrote it down in her incredibly neat, old-fashioned hand writing. "Now, have you got that list of the things you said to Renesmee in the tree?"

"Somewhere," I replied, beginning to shuffle through the papers on my desk. We spent about thirty minutes working on the speech, and I couldn't believe how many ideas came flowing from me with Lucianne's encouragement. I also couldn't believe that in just a few weeks I'd become good friends with a non vegetarian vampire. I'd always thought of the ones that drank human blood as cold and cruel. This impression was instilled in me from the hundreds of Quilleute legends I'd been taught, starring 'bloodsuckers' or 'leeches' that attempted to take out whole tribes of Quilleute. I'd always thought of this negative impression as too deeply engraved in my mind to ever be dislodged. It was a grudge only made stronger as it had been passed from generation to generation. But I couldn't help seeing a better side to Lucianne. I couldn't see her as the undead creature she was, swooping on innocent people in the night and taking their lives with one bite. I could only see her as... well... Lucianne.

"And then you finish with a 'thank you' and sit back down," Lucianne explained, bringing my train of thought to a stop.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," I noted.

"Everything's easier when I'm around," she nodded. "You were just being a depressed boring person anyway, I bet you've forgotten all about whats-her-face now."

"I had forgotten about whats-her-face," I muttered. "Thanks for bringing it back up!" But it was true, I had forgotten about Ellie, and the hurt remembering her brought. Now my loneliness felt more like a tiny pinprick, rather than someone shoving a huge samurai sword straight through my beating heart. I took on what Lucianne had said, about being alone rather than lonely, and I decided I should start thinking of it less as isolation and more as... seclusion. Peace. I had all off eternity to fill that void after all, I might as well spend the meantime revelling in my time alone rather than loathing it... Right?


	9. Cucumber? Cumbybun? Cumber Oh Whatever!

The monotony hadn't killed me yet, but the constriction around my neck was surely about to finish me off.

"Its... too tight... Alice," I gasped, my fingers scrabbling uselessly with the button. Alice sighed in exasperation and undid my top button easily for me.

"It's supposed to be tight Seth, you'll look sloppy otherwise," she chided.

"I'd rather look sloppy than stupid, this cucumber thing looks ridiculous," Jake complained.

"It's a Cumberbund Jacob, and it looks good. Sophisticated," Alice argued, adjusting it on him so it wasn't all folded over.

"Why are his cumbybun and his tie red?" I asked confused.

"Because the theme of the wedding is red. And you're wearing a cumberbund too Seth, I'm just sorting out your shirt first."

"Why do I have one too? I thought the best man and groom wore different things?" I asked.

"You'll have different different coloured flowers in your button holes... Jake put this waistcoat on... leave the Cumberbund alone! That's how it's supposed to look... Seth! Leave your buttons alone!" She growled. I sighed and ceased trying to undo the button beneath my top one.

"Okay Seth, I'll go get your Cumberbund... put on your bow tie and waist jacket. Jake, don't move a muscle!" She warned, before dashing from the room.

"I feel like a complete tool," Jake muttered, staring at himself in the of the huge glass wall that made up the South End of the Cullen's house.

"Ah don't worry; no one will even be looking at you. Everyone knows weddings are about the bride," I shrugged, pulling on my waist jacket and then struggling with my bow tie.

"You're telling me. I had no idea it was a red themed wedding! All I'm doing is turning up, smiling and saying I do."

"Do you care? Wedding arrangements are really boring."

"Nah, I don't care, I'm just edgy because I don't like Nessie not being in the same house as me," he admitted.

"You'll have her all to yourself on the honeymoon, and then for the rest of eternity," I laughed.

"True," he nodded. "I just can't stand being away from her, even for a minute."

"Seth, what are you doing?" Alice groaned as she danced back into the room.

"I haven't got a clue how to do it," I admitted. "Can't I just have one of those elastic ones? Or a velcro one?" She rolled her golden eyes in irritation.

"Okay, watch me," she commanded, taking the tie and wrapping it round her neck. "Make one side lower, like this... cross the longer end over the shorter end and pass it through the loop, double up the shorter end and place it across the collar points... hold the front bit... do this... do that... done. Got it?"

"Yes," I lied. She handed it to me and I tried to do as she had done, but my fingers got all muddled and made about three undo-able knots. Alice growled and sorted it out, muttering under her breath.

"I swear you two are lucky you're a necessity in this wedding, or you wouldn't be in it!" She then proceeded to fixing the cumber-thing around me.

"Okay," she said, stepping back to admire her work. "Now, for the coup de grâce, the tuxedos." Sighing from the relief that her poking and adjusting was over, the two of us simultaneously slipped into our black tuxedo jackets.

"Perfect," said Alice happily, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"I look stupid," Jake disagreed, staring down at himself.

"Don't be ridiculous, no one dressed by me ever looks stupid," Alice insisted.

"Seth, what do you think?" Jake asked, hoping for back up. I paused for thought.

"I think you look a little French," I commented.

"Okay, I may look stupid, but he is just plain stupid," Jake muttered to Alice. Alice made no effort to disagree.

It was the day before the wedding, and the Cullen household was packed with vampires and half vampires. Tanya's coven had come down for Alaska for the wedding, and Nahuel had arrived with his two half sisters, Suyai and Lichuen. Jake was not at all pleased about the latter, as Nahuel was constantly attempting to engage Nessie in deep conversation, making sure her attention was constantly on him. Jake's reaction was to sit very close to Nessie, always keeping an arm around her shoulder or her waist. However, the house was so crammed with guests that Nahuel had an excuse to squeeze up to Nessie on the couch to make room for others to sit down, and he kept leaning to whisper right in Nessie's ear, in what I thought looked a suspiciously seductive way. It seemed to be making Jake's blood boil at any rate. Nessie however kept bursting out into peals of laughter, unaware there was some sort of competition for her attention going on. I decided to go in the kitchen to fetch something strong for Jake to drink. As soon as I walked in, sisters Kate and Tanya suddenly ended their conversation and walked out. I rolled my eyes. Kate and Tanya still held some form of grudge against Jake and I. I think in some way they blamed us for the downfall of their sister Irina. If the pack hadn't destroyed Irina's boyfriend, she never would have fallen out with the she would not have made her way to Forks to apologise,leading her to mistake Nessie at a distance for one of the immortal children, and she wouldn't have been sentenced to death by the Volturi for false accusation. Though I felt sorry for their loss, I did not feel any remorse, as Irina's dear boyfriend had been seconds from killing human Bella.

"I think you should know, that Nahuel doesn't think of Nessie the way that Jacob and yourself believe he does," said Edward, who'd glided into the kitchen unnoticed by me. I was quite shocked by this revelation.

"He could have fooled me," I said honestly, pouring some whiskey into two glasses for Jacob and I.

"She's his best friend, he competes with Jacob for Nessie's attention, not her love." Edward continued to explain.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," I nodded. "I've been spending too much time listening to Jake moan about how much Nahuel's in love with Nessie. It's messed up my judgement," I laughed. Edward smiled.

"I can see that, or should I say hear."

"It must drive you crazy when you have all these people in the house," I grimaced.

"It is somewhat annoying, but I've had a century's practice at blocking it all out, and I have to say I'm rather good at it now."

"Good to know," I grinned. "Anyway, better go get this to Jake and tell him to chill on the whole jealousy front."

"Please do, I hate for him to be getting agitated over nothing. Nahuel is harmless."

"Let it go man," I groaned. "I told you, Edward heard his thoughts, he doesn't think of Nessie like that!"

"Edward heard what he was thinking at that moment, he can't hear all his thoughts though. I tell you, the guy's obsessed!"

"Even if he is, which I really don't believe, why does it matter? You're marrying Nessie tomorrow, he's got nothing on you!"

"It still bugs me," Jake argued. "It's like... having a car. You know it's your car, you know it belongs to you, but if someone tried to drive it and pretend it was theirs it would just tick you off."

"Did you just compare your fiancée to a car?" I asked, amused.

"Yeah... please don't tell her that."

"I won't," I replied with a grin, concentrating on the road in front of me. Jake had been specifically banned from the house by Alice, who despite his protests, was adamant that he did not see the bride before the wedding. This put Jake in an intolerable mood, having to leave Nessie in the house with Nahuel. Jake was dropping me off at Charlie and my mom's while he went to stay with Billie. He'd pick me up in the morning and the two of us would set off before Charlie, Sue and Billie, as it was vital we were in place before everyone else.

"Here you are," Jake said, stopping outside my mom's house. "Don't forget, be ready in an hour." We weren't having the conventional stag party of hiring strippers and getting drunk beyond our senses. Instead we were going to transform and go for a last journey as single wolves, anywhere we pleased, just two best friends strolling the Olympic Peninsula. I couldn't wait.


	10. Just A Few Scratches

Morning came frustratingly early. I was among the majority of people who appreciated the warm comfort of a bed, and did not part with it willingly. Stumbling around bleary eyed, I struggled into my pants and shirt, having to make several attempts to pair up the correct buttons with the right slits. I didn't even entertain the idea of doing up the bow tie, making do with the age old wail of "MOM!" and asking her to do it up for me. She made some comments along the lines of me being useless or me needing to grow up... I was too tired and too sleepy to pay attention. Jake grabbed my attention by honking the car horn loudly outside. I snatched up the piece of toast I'd been in the process of making, and took the flowers from my mom that were to go in mine and Jake's button holes. It hurt that Alice trusted my mom with this job and not me. However the decision made a lot more sense when I got half way out the door and my mom checked I had the rings. I did not. So after a quick trip back to my bedroom, I was ready to go and be best man for the day.

Jacob looked incredibly jittery, but turned down my offers to take the wheel. I tried to talk to him about different things to keep his mind occupied, but the slight green undertone of his skin never edged away.

"Come on man, what's there to be nervous about?" I asked. "You were planning on spending eternity with her anyway, what's the huge deal?"

"It's not the actual marriage I'm worried about," Jake explained. "It's thinking about all those people. Or saying these stupid vows wrong. Or saying something Nessie doesn't like. I dunno man, there's just a thousand things that could go wrong."

"With a wedding that Alice planned? No way! There's more chance of-" I was cut of by Jacob slamming on the breaks, causing the car to skid and spin along the road. I lunged forward, wheezing slightly as I the seatbelt tightened and prevented me from flying through the windscreen, then flung me backwards into the seat.

"What the hell was that man?" I asked shocked. Jake looked pale, his dark eyes wide.

"Him." He whispered, looking thoroughly spooked.

"What?" I asked confused. Before he had time to respond, the loud shattering of breaking glass caused me to jump, especially when hands reached through and began attempting to drag us from inside the car. I attempted to bite down on the arm that was so determined to heave me through the smashed window. It was like snapping your teeth down on a rock. I cried out in pain. I felt the hands snap my seatbelt in half as easily as if it were a piece of liquorice. Then a second attempt was made at dragging me out. This attempt was successful. I cried out as the pieces of jagged glass that remained around the edges of the window sliced into my flesh. I was dropped to the floor unceremoniously, my head cracking loudly against the tarmac on the road. The pain followed instantly. Feeling dizzy, I glanced up through squinted eyes, making out a feminine shape standing over me.

"Seth!" I heard Jake shout, sounding concerned. The pain began to seep away slowly, and I felt incredibly grateful I had the instant healing powers of a werewolf. I sprang to my feet as soon as the pain had disappeared. I found myself face to face with Nahuel's half sister, Lichuen. Jake was busy struggling against the hold of Suyai. Nahuel approached, a triumphant smile on his face.

"Good morning boys, going somewhere?" He asked sarcastically.

"What the hell is this about Nahuel?" I spat.

"What's it about?" Jake laughed bitterly. "I told you, Seth! He wants to get his greasy leech mitts on Nessie!" I stared at Nahuel in horror.

"Nahuel, you know Nessie loves Jake." I said incredulously. "Why are you trying to stop it?"

"Because she loves him for all the wrong reasons!" Nahuel hissed, taking me aback. He was normally so friendly and calm. "The only reason Nessie thinks she's in love with this... mongrel is because of him imprinting on her. She doesn't really love him, she's under his ridiculous Indian voodoo magic. Once Jacob is out of the way, Renesmee will see what real love is like, the type she's not dragged into without will."

"What Nessie and I have is real love!" Jake snarled, ignoring the 'Indian voodoo' jibe. "And if you cared about her the way you seem to think you do, you wouldn't do this! Because losing me will cause her more pain than you could ever imagine."

"So melodramatic," Nahuel smirked. "Of course she'll be upset at first, but after time she'll be ready to move on, straight into the arms of the man who was there to comfort her the entire time. Then she can be with someone of her own kind. She and I are meant to be, she shouldn't have to settle for a lowly dog."

"That's a pretty twisted plan," I scowled.

"Yet also brilliant," Nuhuel smiled, his teeth bright in contrast with his dark skin.

"Enough small talk Seth, let's just kick this guy's ass so we can get to the wedding," Jake growled. He bent into a crouch, looking ready to pounce at Nahuel.

"Wait!" I shouted. "Let's take the tuxes of first." They all turned to look at me as if I'd gone mad

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Jake asked incredulously.

"If we live through this, we won't live through Alice finding out we destroyed her outfits!" I replied. Jake took this into serious consideration.

"Point taken," he nodded. We stripped to our boxers in record timing and placed the clothes on the bonnet of the now vandalised car. Nahuel looked cautious, like someone who'd come into close encounter with an escaped mental patient. It was this momentary pause that probably saved us, or else he could have just ordered his sisters to tear us apart whilst we were still human.

"Now Seth!" Jake commanded. I shuddered and transformed, falling to the floor and landing on my front paws.

"_How we doing this thing_?" I asked Jake through our wolf telepathy.

"_Just go for the sisters. Nahuel's mine. They shouldn't be that hard to beat, since they're not full vampire, but they still outnumber us_."

"_So what_? _This should be easy_," I replied, thinking back to our fight with the newborns back when Bella was human.

"_This isn't the same as new borns Seth_," Jake warned, seeing my thoughts. "_These freaks are experienced, they go for more than just the basic moves_."

"_Got ya_," I replied. Nahuel and his sisters were all crouched into defensive positions, their teeth bared menacingly. Jake and I reacted with harsh snarls, snapping our teeth and raising our hackles. Then Jake and I leapt forward, him going for Suyai, me for Lichuen. Lichuen dodged my attack, not quite as fluidly or quickly as a vampire, but efficiently enough that my teeth missed snapping closed on her face. I landed on the floor gracefully and span round, ready to take another leap. This time she sprang forward, so that we both crashed into each in midair, separating quickly so we wouldn't land on the floor in a sprawled heap. In my mind I could see Jake's side of the fight too. I could see him duck low to the ground as Suyai flew at him. What he couldn't see, which I suddenly saw from the corner of my eye, was Nahuel jumping at him from behind.

"_JAKE_!" I panicked. He turned just in time to see Nahuel landing on his back, strong arms wrapping around Jake's furred neck. From my own point of view, I could see that, inspite of Jake trying to shake him off furiously, Nahuel leaned closer to his neck, his open mouth dripping with vampire venom. Venom that, on entry to Jake's bloodstream, would kill him, slowly and painfully. I barked furiously, forgetting my own fight, and lunged at Nahuel. My razor sharp teeth sunk through his marble arm, causing him to cry out and forget about biting Jake. This gave Jake the opportunity to rear up, sending Nahuel tumbling from his back. I felt a sharp tug on my tail, a vice-like grip tightening around it, causing me to whimper. I was pulled back suddenly, swung through the air. I flew backwards into a tree trunk, causing it to snap. I saw Lichuen crouch and snarl at me, preparing to strike. Then a thought occurred to me. Alice had trouble seeing the future, because of me and Jake. But, if Jake was going to die today, he would disappear, making Nessie's future available to see for Alice. So, Alice would know about this fight and be here right now, helping us. But, if I died today, she wouldn't notice, because she couldn't know about a future disappearing that she couldn't see. So maybe Jake was going to die today, but that didn't guarantee my life.

"_Don't be stupid man!" _Jake growled. "_We've been in worse scrapes than this!_"

"_Like what??_" I asked sceptically. He was rendered incapable of answering as he became suddenly ambushed by both Nahuel and Suyai. I had my own problems too as Lichuen pounced. I made to move, but found my back paw was jammed into a hole in the tree. I whimpered and tugged inefficiently, it was stuck fast. My bones made a deafening crunch as she landed on me. An excruciating pain enveloped my shoulder, as her teeth tore into flesh. She may not have been venomous, but the agony was still indescribable.

"_Seth!_" Jake whined, but he was too caught up in his own fight to help. Lichuen bit down again, and I cried out, the pain was unbearable. I made another futile attempt at freeing my leg from the grasp of the tree. It was no use. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling weak. I could feel the blood seeping from my wounds, as Lichuen struck again and again. It didn't matter than the inflictions were fast healing. she was faster.

"_Seth! Get up!_" Jake commanded, panicked. His voice sounded as if he was shouting at me from the other end of a long tunnel.

"_Can't,_" I replied. Even my thoughts sounded feeble and faint.

"Say goodbye dog," Lichuen whispered, in a velvety voice that dripped with malice. I held my breath and waited for the last fatal bite, but it didn't come. Instead I felt Lichuen's weight lifted from me. I felt too woozy to open my eyes, so I watched through Jake's instead. With a shock I saw Lichuen go flying through the air, her face encased in a mask of shock. And suddenly a voice, soft and wonderfully familiar, was whispering in my ear.

"Seth! Seth! Can you hear me?" Jake watched as Lucianne bent close to me, her beautiful face shrouded in fear. I gathered my last resources of strength.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"Good. Look, you'll pull through this, it's just a couple of scratches." I couldn't believe it, but this managed to draw a weak chuckle from me. "Stay alive for just a few seconds, alright?" She disappeared. Now there was nothing stopping Lichuen from finishing me off. Jake struggled at keeping Nahuel and Suyai at bay, snapping his teeth and dancing around them lithely. He watched with remorse as Lichuen leapt at me, unable to come to my aid as he so deeply wished he could. There was a sudden ear splitting sound, like two boulders colliding at high speeds. I wrenched my eyes open, and saw through my hazy vision a blur of red.

"It's over Nahuel, the others are on their way." Lucianne said coldly. Nahuel roared in frustration and made another lunge for Jake. Jake dodged neatly out the way, then snapped his teeth closed around Nahuel's arm. With the same cry as before, Nahuel struggled to get free. Jake bit down harder then tossed his head to the side. Nahuel's arm went soaring through the air, landing somewhere in the cover of the trees. Lucianne stood guard over me, her expression icy as she watched Lichuen carefully. Lichuen was wary, looking for some way around Lucianne. Realising the vampire was not going to allow her any way to get at me, Lichuen whipped round and lunged at Jake instead. She was once again stopped. Emmett had acted as the barrier this time, his huge, muscled body crouched threateningly and his face uncharacteristically vicious. Edward and Jasper were there too, one in front of Jacob, one behind, protecting him from all sides. The fierce expressions contrasted oddly with the smart suits. Lichuen looked from them, to Lucianne behind her, with wide, frightened eyes.

"Yes, I believe it would be fair to say that we have you surrounded," said Edward calmly. My vision was gradually coming back to me, and I felt my wounds slowly beginning to heal.

"Well, I think we'll leave your fate up to Jacob, given that he is the one you've inconvenienced," Edward continued, having a discussion with the half vampire's thoughts. Jake paused.

"_Let them go_," he thought grudgingly. "_Nessie might get upset if we kill them_." Edward nodded slowly.

"It is not Jacob's wish that we harm you, a decision I feel to be incredibly generous. But you will leave now, and you will not come near our family again. If you are foolish enough to, we will not spare your lives a second time."

"Edward," Nahuel hissed. "You can't possibly wish for Renesmee to spend the rest of eternity with a... werewolf. She should be with someone of her own kind."

"My wish is that Nessie be free to choose whomever makes her happy. That person is Jacob. Though he may not be... 'our kind' I can think of no one that will love her the way Jacob loves her, excluding Bella and myself of course. You may think you are in love with her Nahuel, but if you could remove from her life someone whom she clearly loves, then you can not possibly love her the way she deserves."

"So get the hell out our town," Emmett snarled. Nahuel stood and glared at them all, then at Jacob. He nodded once at his sisters, and the three of them disappeared into the protection of the thick forest. Relaxing her stance, Lucianne knelt at my side once again.

"Are you okay now?" She asked, still looking worried. I nodded my head once. I transformed back to human, making my leg smaller and therefore easier to dislodge from the tree.

"Isn't my blood driving you crazy right now?" I asked, confused, realising I was covered in blood whilst a vampire bent over me.

"Are you kidding? You stink far too much for me to want to go anywhere near your blood," she snorted. She offered me a hand then helped me to my feet, sparing my dignity by looking everywhere except at my boxers.

"So, good job Nahuel isn't in love with Nessie huh?" Jake asked, who had also turned back to human.

"Jacob, I can't begin to apologise for not believing you," said Edward, filled with genuine regret.

"I'll let you off, since you just saved our butt's and all," Jake grinned.

"Shame you wouldn't let us rip 'em up, I'm all fired up for a fight," said Emmett wistfully.

"I'm glad there wasn't, Alice probably wouldn't have let us live if our suits had been destroyed," said Jasper, sounding relieved. "By the way, good idea taking off your outfits before the fight." Jake blushed as he came to realise he was in nothing but his underwear. He eyed Lucianne wearily.

"Don't worry, it does nothing for me," she assured him. "I'll go let know Alice you're all alive." She disappeared.

"Oh god, I bet Nessie's out of her mind with worry," Jake groaned.

"She doesn't know. Alice is keeping her preoccupied; you have a few minutes until the wedding officially begins." Edward promised.

"We'd better get cracking then," Jake muttered, pulling on his pants. "We'll meet you at the house."

"Of course. Be safe," Edward requested sincerely. He sprinted out of sight, followed by Emmett then Jasper.

"Well, that was fun," I grimaced, wincing as I pulled my shirt on over my recently healed wounds.

"You okay man?" Jake asked in concern.

"Yeah, I will be. Look... I'm sorry for doubting you on the whole Nahuel thing. That wasn't cool." I apologised.

"Forget it man. To be honest, I wasn't so sure myself. Part of it was just my crazy jealousy talking. But hey, at least now I'm sure," he joked.

"Crazy days," I grinned.

"Which seem to always happen to us," Jake observed.

"You gotta love it, keeps life interesting."

"I guess, we did manage to make it seven years without drama, it was bound to come knocking on our door sooner or later." We both climbed into the car, brushing the shards of glass off the seats as best we could.

"Hey, I got a question," I said, as Jake fired up the engine.

"Shoot," he said, putting the car into drive.

"You got any idea how to do a bow tie?"


	11. Speeches and Happily Ever After

**Well, this is the very last chapter to this story, finally =D **

**Thankyou so much to Krazikeo and Orelina aka. ME. Thankyou sincerely for your inspirational reviews, you have been the sunshine to my fanfiction world!! xx**

I had to say; Alice was a pain. But man she could decorate a room. The entire room was dripping with garlands of white blossoms, tied with red ribbon that entwined around them. There were hundreds of vases filling every available space, each one containing huge bouquets of red roses. The chairs were all draped with a dark red satin, and red and white ribbon wound around the banister of the staircase. The floor space between the two groups of chairs that formed the aisle was covered with red rose petals. Jake and I waited beneath an arch that was heavily decorated with a tasteful mix of red roses and white blossoms. I'd expected to feel slightly anxious, and I'd expected Jake to be shaking with nerves. Instead we both basked in an unnatural cloak of peace, a feeling which I felt sure was courtesy of Jasper. Rosalie began to play the grand piano. A wonderful, delicate sound flooded the room, as her fingers danced across the black and white keys. On cue, Alice, followed by Bella, began a slow and graceful descent down the staircase. Both looked beautiful in knee length dresses that matched the colour of the rose petals. They each held in their hands a small bouquet of white roses. Once they'd made their way down the aisle they took their place on the other side of Jake to me. Rosalie then subtly changed the music to the wedding march, and Nessie appeared at the top of the staircase, her arm linked through Edward's. She was beyond describable. The top of her white dress was strapless, embroidered along the top with red flowers made up of tiny beads. The skirt flowed out and brushed along the floor, the red flower pattern decorating the bottom of it. Her long, bronze-coloured ringlets had been swept into a soft crown on top of her head. Her tiara perched on top, sparkling in the pale light of the room, outshone by only the excited glitter of her wide, brown eyes. She grasped in her hands a bouquet of red roses, much bigger than Bella and Alice's. I glanced at Jake. His countenance expressed an ecstasy most people could only dream of. Edward and Nessie reached the end of the aisle, and in the traditional manner, Edward passed Nessie over to Jake, giving her a swift peck on the cheek. Nessie and Jake gazed at each other softly before turning to face the minister. The piano music ceased. The minister began. He opened with the traditional stuff; We are gathered here to day to join in holy matrimony etcetera etcetera. I was asked to present the rings, which I passed to Jake very professionally. He and Nessie slipped the rings onto each other's fingers.

"And now, Renesmee and Jacob have written some vows of their own," he announced. Alice stepped forward and handed Nessie some cards, on which her speech was written down.

"Jake," she began, with a fond smile. "I've known you a long time, almost my whole life." This was clearly for the benefit of Jake's sisters, who would have been confused if Nessie had claimed to have known Jacob since birth. "And in that time, you've been everything I could have ever asked for. My friend, my protector and my soul mate. I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone but you. The way you make me feel each and every day, makes me feel like the luckiest person that's ever lived. I know nothing will ever keep us apart, and I can't wait to spend the rest of forever in your arms." I noticed a few people dabbing their faces with tissues. Jake smiled and drew his speech from his pocket. He paused and looked down at it, then shoved it back in his pocket. Nessie looked at him confused. He took her hands gently in his, and stared deep into the depths of her eyes, talking to her, and only her.

"Ness, I've always known I loved you, but today made me realise just how much I really do. Trying to picture life without you, is like picturing superman without the cape, no, like trying to picture the world without sun. Because without the sun, there would be no world. Or if there was, it would be completely useless. I love you so much. I couldn't bear to be without you, even for a second. You're my sunshine, breathing life and magic into my world. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I've never been more sure of anything. I love you." Nessie stared at him for a moment, then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with an intense passion.

"You may...er... kiss the bride," the minister stated awkwardly. The room broke out into enthusiastic applause, while Nessie and Jake continued locking lips. I nudged Jake gently but firmly, and he pulled his face away unwillingly from his new bride's. Together they faced the crowd, their smiles rivalled only by each other's. Then people began to swarm around. I managed to grab hold of Jake's hand and shake it enthusiastically. I then pulled Nessie, tear streaked face and all, into a huge hug. All in all it was a great beginning to their happily ever after.

Throughout Edward's speech, the beads of sweat on my forehead increased in number. They were beads of anxiety. The reason for my anxiety was that my speech was not in my pocket. I knew exactly where it was; on the bedside table of my mother's guest room. I could hardly concentrate on Edward's words. I was too busy scanning my memory banks, desperately trying to piece together my speech from what I had memorised. That wasn't a lot. Edward completed his speech, and everyone applauded, then raised their glasses and yelled "cheers!" I felt a tug on my arm. Looking down, I got a shock as I saw Lucianne crouched down next to where I sat.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"I thought you'd need this," she replied, handing me a piece of paper. My speech.

"How did you-"

"Please, you think I trusted you to remember it? I was shocked you managed to get yourself dressed," she laughed. I decided not to mention my mother, then Jake, had done the bow tie for me.

"Thanks," I muttered sincerely.

"Any time." Then she was gone. A general chatter had broken out amongst the guests.

"Your turn man," Jake muttered to me, with a taunting grin. I smiled back nervously. I rose to my feet and tapped my champagne glass with my knife. A hush fell over everyone. I cleared my throat and hoped for the best.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen. As you may know, I'm the best man. I'd like to start by saying that it takes a strong and intelligent man to realize his dreams and achieve his goals in life and, more importantly, love. A man that is not afraid to live life to its fullest and embrace what is truly important. But enough about me... I'm here to talk about Jacob and Renesmee." A light hearted laugh spread across the crowd. "In all seriousness though, I am incredibly happy for these newly weds. Being a good friend to both of them, I've shared in their laughs, their tears, and their downright madness. I can safely say I can think of no two people, more deserving of each other, than this wonderful couple sat beside me ladies and gentlemen. They're each other's lives, and each other's worlds. Nessie and Jake are meant to be. the love they share is more powerful than regular love, more magical. Not many people will ever have the opportunity of feeling how they feel about each other. People spend their whole lives searching for that level of commitment and dedication. I would wish these two luck for the future, but I can't think of anyone right now who would need it less, so I'll save it all for myself whilst dancing with all the lovely single ladies tonight. Nessie and Jake deserve every bit of joy they get, so I ask you to raise your glasses, and join me in expressing my confidence that they will be revelling in a happily ever after from this moment on." Everyone raised their glasses again, and once more shouted "cheers!" I finally exhaled; feeling light headed, and dropped into my seat.

"Thanks man," Jake grinned.

"Meant every word," I grinned back. We both shut up instantly as the food was served.

Just like the house, the garden was decorated beautifully too. There were thousands of roses and blossoms out here too. Just like Bella's wedding, they formed a sweet-smelling tent over the whole garden, including the dance floor set up on the grass. It was a surprisingly warm day for Forks, even though the trees filtered out the afternoon sun. I hadn't seen Nessie and Jake for a while, as they'd been enveloped by a crowd of people wishing to give them a proper congratulations. I scanned the garden and saw the table Lucianne had been sharing with the Denali clan was deserted, except for Lucianne, busy pulling the petals off a rose.

"Hey," I greeted her, taking a seat.

"Hello," she replied, looking up from the rose.

"Thanks for the speech. You saved my butt. Again." I grinned. "Any way I could repay you?" She considered it for a moment.

"Save me a dance?" She asked.

"Sure," I nodded. We then got up to got watch all the traditional wedding events take place. Nessie and Jake cutting into a pretty spectacular looking cake, then shoving it into each other's faces. Nessie wrinkled her nose at this, as though Jake had fed her poison. Nessie threw her rose bouquet into a small crowd of women, which was snatched up by Lucianne. I judged from the triumphant smile on her face that she caught it simply to enjoy victory rather than anything else. Then the bride and groom shared their first official dance on the dancefloor. I had to admit, I was impressed by Jake's grace, as he span professionally with Nessie held close to him. Then came the father daughter dance. Then slowly everyone began to swarm onto the dance floor, as the music became more upbeat. I strolled around and talked with a couple of people. Mom and Charlie, then Billie, then Paul, who'd come with Jake's sister. Sam and Emily were there too, Emily nursing her second pregnancy bump, while Sam whirled their daughter round the dance floor. Many of the other wolves had turned up too. I watched them all, enjoying the company of the partners they'd gained over the years. And I wondered if I'd been right to give up my Quilleute life in favour of the adventure promised by being a part of the Cullen family. Because I definitely considered them all family now, as they did me. But I still couldn't shake off the feeling of loneliness, that on Lucianne's advice, I'd been trying to kid myself was a peaceful solidarity.

"Hello Seth." a jolt of surprise surged through me at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Ellie?" I gawked. She stood behind me shyly, looking beyond amazing in a long, shimmery blue gown. I saw Jake looking at me from the dance floor, grinning and mouthing "You're welcome." I guessed he'd taken it upon himself to invite her.

"How've you been?" She asked softly, watching my face cautiously. We both seemed to be waiting for all the anger I'd been feeling towards her to come bubbling up to the surface. It never came.

"I've been good," I replied, in the same soft tone. We both stood awkwardly for a few minutes, our heads bobbing as we watched everyone around us enjoy the lovey-dovey atmosphere.

"So... do you... want to dance?" She asked uncertainly.

"Sure," I shrugged. We found a spot on the crowded dance floor and began to revolve in a circle, our fingers threaded together as we held hands loosely.

"So what made you come here?" I asked curiously.

"Jacob invited. He said you wanted me here," she explained, almost hopefully.

"Guess he knows me better than I know me," I grinned.

"So... you do want me here?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I guess I do," I realised.

"Oh thank god," she smiled. "Seth, I have to tell you. I haven't stopped thinking about you. I mean at first, yeah... maybe I was using you. And that was a terrible thing to do. But then I realised how much I really like you. There was nothing fake about that kiss."

"Really?" I asked.

"No. I just feel like we're so connected. These past few weeks I feel like we've gotten so close, and I really think we could make this, us, something amazing." And once again we were leaning in to kiss, this time both sober, this time both a hundred percent sure.

Except that I wasn't a hundred percent sure. The words that had come from Ellie's mouth were perfect, I couldn't have put it better myself. But they were coming from the wrong mouth. And as our lips touched, I knew this couldn't be something amazing. Because we weren't connected. I barely knew this girl. And I couldn't see her in my future. I pulled away regretfully.

"I'm sorry Ellie, I can't do this."

"Why?" She asked, shocked and hurt.

"Look, you're a really smart, funny, amazingly pretty girl. And I know one day you'll find a guy who's perfect for you. But I don't think I'm that guy. I'm really sorry." She stared at me, lost for words.

"Well, if that's the way you feel," she shrugged, her voice cracking.

"Ellie-" But she turned and disappeared into the crowd. I didn't go after her. The only thing I'd be able to say to cheer her up was exactly the thing I couldn't say.

"You look weird," Lucianne commented, suddenly by my side.

"How so?" I asked.

"Mmm... I can't place it.. I'm not so good with human emotion. Erm... sad? Regretful?"

"Regretful," I admitted.

"Because you had to turn down that girl?"

"How do you know that?" I asked

"Vampire hearing." She shrugged.

"Of course."

"You've kind of been looking like that for a while now though." She commented.

"Yeah I know. I've also kind of been wondering if I made the right choice in deciding to travel with the Cullens."

"Have you ever heard of the poem _The Road Not Taken_ by Robert Frost?"

"Can't say I have."

"The end goes something like... "I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference."

"What?" I asked.

"Basically, he had to choose between two paths, he couldn't take both. So he took the one he thought looked better, even though both roads looked equally as good. And even though he sometimes regrets that he couldn't take the other road, he's still glad he took the road he chose. Because it's made all the difference in his life. I think it would translate nowadays as: quit being a baby and make do with what you've chosen."

"This Robert Frost sounds like a wise man," I nodded.

"He most certainly was." She agreed. "Anyway, you promised me a dance."

"So I did." I looked at the dancefloor, which was packed with dancing couples. She dragged me to a far corner of the garden, that was private and devoid of tables. It was beneath a couple of trees, the branches strewn with more garlands. We could still hear the music from our secluded spot, but it wasn't as loud and obtrusive as it had been whilst next to the dance floor. A new song struck up, slow and melodic.

"M'lady," I said, offering my hand.

"Good sir," she laughed, curtsying and taking my hand. I pulled her gently closer, placing my hand softly on her waist. It was a lot less awkward than with Ellie. She rested her marble hand on my shoulder, and we began to sway in time with the music.

"Ah, dancing is so simple nowadays," she smiled. "I remember a time when you were a failure at life if you couldn't do a proper waltz."

"Sure, sure, grandma," I grinned.

"Great, great, great grandma," she grinned back.

"Congratulations on catching the bouquet," I laughed.

"Mmm... I only wanted it because everyone else did."

"How kind of you."

"I believe I've done enough good things today to last me a century or two," she reminded me.

"Possibly. Thanks for that by the way."

"For saving you from a vampire-human hybrid or for saving you from embarrassing yourself in front of everyone you know?"

"Both, actually." We laughed. "So... guess you'll be taking off after this huh?"

"I guess. Unless you can think of something I should stick around for?" She asked. I stared into her eyes. I no longer saw them as a dull, burgundy red. In fact, there was something a lot more different about. Lighter. The colour was...

"Did you... stop eating humans?" I asked, perplexed.

"Oh... yeah," she muttered self consciously.

"Why?"

"Because... I have no idea why... but making you feel freaked out affected me a whole lot more than anything else I've ever felt in a long time. I had this weird urge to try things your way." I stared at her for a few moments, and then we were leaning in, and my scorching lips met her icy ones for the first time. It was a strange feeling. Like when you'd been handling snow with your bare hands, and you got that strange tingling sensation before they went numb. But it was good tingling. Wonderful tingling. We pulled away suddenly; both shocked by what had just happened.

"A vampire and a werewolf... that's just plain weird," I said, shaking my head.

"Eh... weirder things have happened." She shrugged.

"Oh yeah, what have you seen that's weirder?"

"A two headed pig." She replied. We laughed, and out of nowhere, we gave a synchronized HSSSSS! Then we shared another kiss, this time really throwing ourselves into it. And I finally felt what I'd been waiting to feel, the sparks of electricity. And the smug sensation of finally being able to send my depressing loneliness away for good.


End file.
